The Glee That Could Have Been
by Glee Let Me Down
Summary: If Faberry were endgame... Season One AU. Finntana pregnancy as well.
1. Pilot

_"On my own; pretending he's beside me…"_

Quinn Fabray heard the music coming through the open doors of the auditorium. She had heard the song at least ten times in the last twenty-four hours, and it had been the same voice singing it. She couldn't quite explain her obsession with Rachel Berry's My Space page. She barely knew the girl. There was something about the brunette's singing voice that just got to her though.

She needed to be more careful, though. She'd been watching the video the day before while she waited for Finn to get out of practice, and Santana caught her red handed.

"Gross," Her best friend cackled, inviting herself to sit on the bleacher behind Quinn. "Is that that Berry chick? She's in my US History class. Did you know that she has two Dads and they paid some woman to have her? I had to peer-edit her paper on alternative conception methods. It read like an uncomfortably informative children's book."

Quinn had worked hard to get Santana Lopez to like her. For some reason, she had thought that there would be a point where she could stop trying to impress the queen bee. Unfortunately, it seemed like she had been wrong. She let out a nervous laugh, suddenly understanding that admitting that she liked Rachel's videos would be unacceptable.

"Yeah, she's totally lame," Quinn agreed. "Look at the way her eyes scrunch up when she hits a high note. She takes herself way too seriously."

"God, she looks like a constipated bulldog," Santana cringed. "You need to leave a comment."

Quinn forced a mean-looking smile as she lowered her hands to her keyboard, "If I were your parents, I'd sell you back".

She felt horrible, standing in the doorway watching Rachel belt out very note passionately (to her Spanish teacher, inexplicably). Rachel was amazing, and Quinn swore to herself that one day, she'd have the courage to tell her.

* * *

><p>If there was one thing Rachel loved about herself, it was her determination. If there was something she wanted, she'd go for it, and this year especially, she knew what she wanted. She wasn't a freshman anymore. It was time for her to take the spotlight.<p>

"If Mr. Ryerson isn't coaching, there's really no point in going back," She heard Hank, the previous star of Sandy Ryerson's glee club, saying to his friends at their lockers. "I mean, it's our senior year. Do we really have time to deal with some tragic re-design?"

"Yeah, I heard the Spanish teacher's taking over." Tara Gold agreed. "Does he even have any musical training?"

Hank shook his head. "None…"

"Yeah…" Tara laughed. "We'll let the underclassmen clean up this train wreck,"

After over-hearing that conversation, Rachel was barely able to contain her joy. Her peers were essentially leaving her behind to lead the Show Choir. It only justified her decision to rat out Sandy Ryerson.

Now, it was time to join the New Directions. It was the perfect fresh start. She just had to find the perfect audition song.

"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry and I will be performing a selection from the seminal Broadway classic, Les Mis…"

She knew it was the perfect song. It suited her vocal range better than any other piece the "Young Broadway" song book. Sure, her test run on MySpace hadn't gone so smoothly, but what did a stuck-up cheerleader know about musical theater.

Speak of the devil. As Rachel sang out her last note, she looked up to see Quinn Fabray standing in the doorway of the auditorium. Their eyes met for only a second before Quinn caught herself, and disappeared from sight. Rachel frowned for a minute, wondering why anyone would hate her so much, that they'd follow her around just waiting for her to mess something up so they could laugh at her.

"Thank you, Rachel," Mr. Shuester said in the audience. Rachel re-focused her attention. Quinn wasn't important. She couldn't be distracted by her.

"When do we start rehearsals?"

* * *

><p>"Wait…" Quinn said, shoving Finn's groping hands off her. "…Let's pray…"<p>

Honestly, all she'd been able to think about all afternoon was Rachel. She still felt sick about the My Space comment. She sat up and pressed her palms together, closing her eyes lightly. She wasn't sure if she was going to ask god for forgiveness for what she'd done to Rachel, or if she just wanted to do something to distract Finn.

"Seriously…?" Finn mumbled. "Quinn. It's not even like I was trying to touch your boobs or anything. It's been four months. I think I've earned an over-the-skirt butt-touch. Don't be a prude!"

"Would you shut up?" She asked nicely. "You're interrupting my communication with the lord."

"Okay, fine, keep talking to god or whatever…" Finn snapped. "I know for a fact he's going to tell you that butt-touches are okay."

"Go home, Finn," Quinn rolled her eyes. "You really know how to take a girl out of the mood."

She wasn't lying, and her accusation wasn't just based on recent events. She found nothing about Finn sexy. But he was the quarterback. He was a nice guy, for the most part. He made Quinn laugh and knew how to compliment her. Also, he was best friends with Santana's favorite fuck-buddy, Puck, which was a plus because the four of them had a blast hanging out.

"Fine, I'll leave!" Finn snapped. "But I'm making myself a sandwich first. You guys have the good salami."

Quinn watched him get off the couch and walk in the direction of the kitchen. Yeah, he was a classy guy, that Finn Hudson.

* * *

><p>Rachel liked Finn. She got good vibes from him. She's asked Mr. Shuester to find her an acceptable male lead and she had to admit, she wasn't disappointed. Finn had charisma, and he would be the perfect duet partner.<p>

"You're very talented," She told him excitedly, as they went through the refreshment line at the Carmel High School auditorium. They'd come to see their competition, and Rachel knew that the field trip was the perfect opportunity for her to get to know her teammate a little better. "I would know, I'm also very talented."

"Thank you," Finn said awkwardly. Rachel could tell that he would have some trouble warming up to her at first. She was used to it. She knew she was sort of a strong personality. "I mean, yeah, I really like your energy and stuff."

"I think we should do a duet," She told him. "Just the two of us…"

"Well, I kind of already have a girlfriend," He said.

Rachel nodded, her eyes widening, annoyed that he just assumed that she was hitting on him. "It's a song, Finn. Our voices go together. It means nothing other than that."

"Right…" He said. But she could tell that he still didn't believe her. She needed to show somehow that she wasn't interested in him. He was a little…tall…for her taste.

"A girlfriend, though…" She said encouragingly. "…That's cute. Is it serious?"

"Yeah, we've been together for about four months. She's cool."

"Nice…" Rachel said pleasantly. "What's her name?"

"Quinn…" He told her. "Quinn Fabray…"

Rachel felt a lump rising in her throat at the thought of the delicate cheerio. If Finn was dating the girl who had been so mean to her this week, maybe he wasn't so cool after all. "Cheerleader Quinn Fabray…?" She had to make sure she wasn't confused. "…President of the celibacy club?"

"The one and only," Finn said proudly. "You know her?"

Rachel shrugged. "We had a class together last year. We were friends on MySpace for a while but…that relationship ended for reasons I won't get into."

"Oh…okay," Finn wasn't even curious enough to ask.

Rachel had to roll her eyes. Maybe Finn wasn't so cool after all.

* * *

><p>Quinn stopped in her tracks when she saw them: Finn and Rachel talking together in the hall. She automatically assumed the worst. Rachel was clearly telling her boyfriend what a horrible person she was. The guilt over what she'd said to Rachel was bad enough, and now Finn was going to break up with her over it. Her adrenaline kicked in and she started to act without thinking.<p>

"What are you doing talking to her?" She asked nervously, charging up to them.

Rachel's eyes met Quinn's. They were full of disappointment. "We're partners for a project," She told Quinn coldly. Quinn knew instantly that Rachel wasn't going to talk about her behind her back. All of a sudden, she wished the singer would. All of a sudden, she felt like she deserved it.

Quinn turned to Finn, scrambling for something else to say. "Christ Crusaders; my house; eight o'clock…"

And then she walked away, unable to stand Rachel's presence anymore.

She'd gotten about halfway down the hallway before Santana sprung out of nowhere and grabbed her arm. "Major Mayday, Q."

"It's September…" Brittany Pierce said quietly on the other side of her. Quinn liked Santana's other best friend. She was a bit of a slut, but she was nice. However, her obnoxiously stupid side comments did get annoying sometimes.

"Can it, Brit," Santana snapped, and whipped her head back to Quinn. "Your boyfriend joined the freaking Glee club."

"No he didn't," Quinn shook her head innocently.

"He went on the field trip with them on Saturday! Puckerman saw him get off the bus!"

Quinn looked back down the hall to see if Finn and Rachel were still by her locker. They had disappeared. She couldn't believe they'd lied to her. Really, were they that afraid that she'd judge them?

"This is unacceptable," Santana snapped. "He's hanging out with those charity cases. Who does he think he is? Mother Theresa?"

"Probably…" Quinn mumbled.

She didn't really care that Finn was joining the glee club. All she could think about was how he had the courage to do something she couldn't: treat someone decently.


	2. Showmance

Quinn put her hands on her hips, her chin up as she strutted confidently down the hall. She didn't want anyone to know how fast her heart was was beating; how her stomach was doing flips at the thought of what she was about to do.

"Hi." She said simply as she walked through the doorway of the choir room.

Finn and Rachel were alone at the piano, running some warm ups. They were both surprised, and terrified, to see her.

"Quinn," Finn started backing away from the piano, as if distancing himself from it would make his presence in the choir room look more accidental. "What are you doing here?"

"You can stop the act, Finn," She smiled angelically. "I know you joined the Glee club. I'm not mad."

"Your not…?" He asked, his face contorting.

"No," Her heart skipped a beat as she consciously shifted her attention to Rachel. "In fact, I want to join too."

Finn blinked blankly at her. Rachel's jaw dropped slightly, trying hard to figure out if the blond was joking or not.

"I've always liked to sing," Quinn nodded. "And I realized that Finn is pretty great to do something he likes even if his friends don't approve of it."

Finn smiled gently, and stepped toward her, taking her in a hug. "I love you, Quinn…"

Rachel wasn't sold though, "You'll have to audition," She said snobbishly.

Quinn pulled away from Finn. She nodded at Rachel, to let her know she wasn't going to fight her. "I'll have something prepared for next week."

"You won't get to participate in our first assembly performance either. There's not time to train you."

Quinn just kept nodding. "No, I know. It's fine. There will be a lot of other performances."

At that point, Rachel was growing less skeptical. "I'll tell Mr. Shuester to expect your audition."

Finn grabbed Quinn again. "Hey. I'm proud of you." He kissed her on the top of the head.

But Quinn was watching Rachel, who was sitting herself back down at the piano. In all honesty, Rachel's opinion was the one that mattered.

* * *

><p>Celibacy club wasn't Quinn's favorite after school event. The whole thing was sort of pointless. Honestly, it felt like she was the only virgin left on the cheerleading squad, and the cheerleading squad only showed up to the celibacy club because Santana made them. Quinn didn't actually care about her vow of chastity. It was more a show for her parents than for herself. She just wasn't comfortable with the idea of having sex with Finn.<p>

She liked to be in charge, though. Being president meant that she got to be in control of the meetings. Well, she got to pretend to be in control. A lot of her discussion topics were suggested by Santana.

"It's all about the teasing, and not about the pleasing," The girls chanted in unison.

Santana shot Quinn a nod of approval, and Quinn forced a smile back. She knew there were a lot of things she could be doing to make the club more relevant. She would feel guilty putting "celibacy club" on her college applications when the name of the club was currently a bit misleading. She also knew that if she stopped listening to Santana, the club would lose all its members.

"I think it's time to get the boys in here," Quinn said, sick and tired of watching a group of girls show off their thighs. Sure, the cheerleaders had awesome legs; some better than others. Quinn assumed that she wasn't the only one getting distracted. The skin was so blatantly exposed.

The boys came in and the club got started on some bogus activity where the boys and girls grinded on opposite sides of the balloon and tried not to let it pop.

"Oh yeah…" Finn was grunting jokingly to her as they went at it. "Who knew static electricity could feel so good?"

"Finn, stop," Quinn mumbled, embarrassed to be seen with him.

Across the room, Santana and Puck's balloon popped. They let the remnants fall to the floor and started kissing right then and there. Finally, Quinn had had it.

"Really, Santana…?" She shouted.

Santana pulled away from Puck, shooting Quinn and even grin. "Calm your tits, Fabray. It's just a stupid balloon."

Quinn was suddenly intimidated. "Whatever," She tried to brush it off.

"I think we should all just stop fooling ourselves!" Santana cried out, throwing her hands in the air. "Raise your hand if you actually get something out of being here."

Quinn looked around frantically. Fortunately, about half of the girls raised their hands genuinely.

"Put your hands down, ladies," Santana sneered. "Boys, there's a little secret that none of them want you to know. They want sex just as much as you do. So go ahead and nail them. They'll thank you for it some day."

Quinn couldn't believe this was happening. She shot apologetic looks to the girls who had raised their hands. Why did Santana have to be so horrible?

"If that's how you feel, Santana. You can leave," Quinn spoke as calmly as she could, her voice shaking.

"Fine… I will," Santana smirked. "Who's with me?"

As she went for the door, half the girls and almost all the boys followed her. Quinn looked to her boyfriend for comfort, but he avoided eye contact. He was staying, but his face said it all. He wasn't on her side. Suddenly, she didn't feel much like leading a meeting anymore.

"The rest of you can go home too…" She said weakly.

The classroom cleared out completely, leaving the couple alone. Finn had started to gather up his things, fully prepared to leave.

"A little back up would've been nice," Quinn snapped at him.

Finn threw his back pack over his shoulder with a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I don't even know why we're doing this anymore."

"It's important to me!" Quinn cried.

"No, it's not," Finn rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't know what your problem is; if you're not attracted to me of if you don't like the way my breath smells, but every time we make out it's like you're begging for an excuse to stop. Half the time you won't even let me kiss you at the end of a date! Do you understand how bad that makes me feel?"

"Finn, stop…" That wasn't it. He was overreacting.

"No!" He flailed. "Quinn, I'm dying here. I just want to be able to show you I care about you, and you're basically telling me you never want to have sex with me. Don't tell me it's your Christian values. You drink and watch R-rated movies and do everything else you shouldn't do."

"I'm just not comfortable! This is different!" She told him for what felt like the hundredth time.

"You know, you're never going to make it in Glee club if you're such a prude," He snapped. "We're working on some pretty risqué dance moves. I doubt you'll even be able to handle them with your Christian values hanging over your head."

"What…?" That was the most ridiculous thing Quinn had ever heard.

Finn shook his head, a pained expression on his face. "Look, I'm going home." He told her. "Call me if you come up with a better excuse for why you don't want to touch me."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Quinn was still sobbing in the girl's bathroom. He mom was coming to pick her up soon, at the time Celibacy club was supposed to get out, and all Quinn wanted was to be able to collect herself before then so her mother wouldn't pester her to figure out what was wrong.<p>

She was beginning to buy it. She knew she shouldn't let what other people thought mess with her confidence, but she just couldn't help it. Maybe Finn was right, maybe there was something wrong with her.

"Hello…?" Quinn jumped at the unexpected knock on her door.

"Someone's in here," She choked inside the stall.

"Are you okay?" The other girl asked. "You sound like your having a panic attack and I know from experience that they are not to be taken lightly."

Quinn stood up, taking a deep breath, realizing that she had been embarrassing herself. "I'm fine,"

"Well, do you want to talk?"

Suddenly, Quinn realized whose voice was on the other side of the door. She realized she needed to reveal herself as well. Rachel was being far nicer than she should be. Quinn cautiously pushed open the door, and looked sadly at Rachel.

"Oh." Rachel said, tensing up a bit. "This is the ugliest I've ever seen you, Quinn."

Quinn couldn't help but laugh. Her nose bubbled and she scrambled for another bunch of toilet paper.

"What could possibly make the princess of McKinley so upset?" Rachel asked. Her tone was uncertain, and Quinn still didn't know how genuine her kindness was. "Did you chip a tooth on your silver spoon?"

Quinn shook her head, wiping her tears from her face. She couldn't confide in Rachel, not without setting things straight. "Rachel, I made a mistake online last week," She whimpered. "It was my friend's idea to comment on the video, and I guess I like, gave into peer pressure."

Rachel's brow furrowed. She looked concerned, almost. "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know. I'm just that pathetic." Quinn cried. "I really, really, liked your song."

Rachel had to move past the hurt she'd felt initially. She had just been complimented by the prettiest girl in school. She felt herself trying to suppress a prideful smile.

"Just tell me, though, Rachel," Quinn begged. "What kind of sex dances are we going to be doing in Glee club that have Finn all riled up?"

Rachel laughed nervously. "What did you hear?"

Quinn shrugged. "Apparently he's concerned I won't be able to handle it."

Rachel sighed embarrassingly. "Maybe it's a bad idea. We're choreographing a secret number for the assembly. You can't tell Mr. Shuester, though. He still thinks we're doing disco."

"Are you planning on going behind his back?" Quinn asked in disbelief. "Rachel, you could get in so much trouble for that. Don't get Glee club cancelled before I even get a chance to audition!"

Rachel got a pleading look in her eye. "Look, if we don't do something accessible to the masses no one's going to join glee and we won't even be able to compete."

"Look," Quinn tried. "…Just don't do it. I don't want you…" She caught herself and remembered what she was supposed to care about. "…I don't want Finn to get in trouble. Just…stick with disco and I'll take care of recruitment, okay?"

Rachel smiled again, thrilled with how the other girl was throwing herself into Glee club now. "Okay…"

Quinn smiled awkwardly. She wiped her face one more time and started toward the bathroom door.

"…Is it Finn…?" Rachel asked as she was about to leave. Quinn turned around confused. "Did he make you cry?"

Quinn shrugged, suddenly not caring about her own problems. "Finn and I are fine…" She said, maybe not so convincingly.

"Oh okay," Rachel replied. "It's just that he seems like kind of a bumbling idiot."

Maybe Quinn was crazy, but she could've sworn Rachel winked at her.

* * *

><p>"Believe me…I know," Santana sighed. "Quinn's been my girl since the moment she spontaneously materialized in Lima. She can be sort of a condescending idiot."<p>

Finn nodded, taking another swig of his beer. He hadn't texted Quinn to tell her about the party at Brittany's house. He knew it wouldn't really be her scene, and really just needed some time away from her. He knew it was slightly weird to be drinking alone in the Pierce's guest room with her best friend, but Santana was his friend too, and they couldn't possibly have a conversation downstairs with all the noise Britt's guests were making.

Finn sighed. "Quinn thinks she's too good for me,"

"That's probably true," Santana mumbled, taking a sip of her own.

Finn laughed at her mean joke, and gave her a playful shove. "You know what I think, Satan?" He asked. "I think you're much too eager to watch this relationship fail."

"So what if I am?" She said proudly.

Finn was quiet for a few minutes. He finished off the second half of his beer and crushed the can in his bare hand. He couldn't think of anything to say for a while. His thoughts were jumbled. Finally, he spoke. "I thought it was really cool what you said in celibacy club…about girls wanting sex like…like guys want sex. That was cool."

"That was true!" Santana confirmed. "Your girlfriend's a minority!"

"Do you think I'm ugly?" He asked her.

Santana laughed cruelly, and for a second Finn thought he had his answer. But then, she started talking. "Look, Hudson. I used to think the only way I'd meet a guy like you was if I sold my cow for magic beans, climbed a magic beanstalk and tried to rob your castle in the sky. But like a rich, ugly, giant, you have a lot to offer. I have to admit. I'm kind of into you."

Finn raised his eyebrows. He suddenly wondered how many beers Santana had had. He suddenly wondered how many beers he'd had. "Whoa…" Quinn who?

"Oh, don't look so surprised," Santana said. "You're cute…kind of like the stay-puffed marshmallow man."

"Right…" Finn swallowed, wiping his sweaty palms on the palms of his jeans. He looked over at Santana. She was wearing this satin, low-cut top with her hair falling around her shoulders. She looked hotter than ever.

"And honestly…" Santana continued bluntly. "The only bad thing is that everything about you screams virgin. It's exhausting to look at you."

He frowned. What on earth was she implying? "Thanks…"

Suddenly, her hand was on his shoulder. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Catching on, he turned his head and caught her in a real kiss. Before he knew what he was doing, he and Santana were lying down on the bed, and Finn knew that he was about to score…

* * *

><p>"Hey Q," Santana had a skip in her step as she walked up to her best friend outside the choir room that Monday, Brittany in tow. "What are you up to? Auditioning for glee club, per chance?"<p>

Quinn tensed up. "Who told you?"

"Finn did of course," Santana grinned. Her secret empowered her. She knew she could save it for a rainy day. "At least, I think it was him. I don't know… I was pretty drunk…"

"There was a party at my house," Brittany said, unashamed. "I wanted to invite you, but I forgot."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I thought Glee would be fun for me and Finn to do together."

"Perfect," Santana grinned, cocking her head evilly. "I'm joining to."

"Oh…"

"In fact, Britt and I were saying it might be fun to audition together. What song are you singing? Say A Little Prayer?"

Now it was getting weird. "How did you guess?"

"Please Q; I know how you operate better than I know my own menstrual cycle. That's your go-to car song, and Britt and I have back up vocals down. What do you say? We'll follow your lead?"

Quinn was scared. If Santana was joining glee club, there had to be some sort of catch. Santana had never even apologized for what had happened the week before in Celibacy club. How could Quinn trust her?

At the same time, Quinn remembered the promise she'd made to Rachel. If Brittany and Santana joined Glee, the club would only be three members short of a competition team.

"Keep the performance simple," Quinn instructed them. "And please don't upstage me,"

"Honey," Santana smirked. "Would I ever do that?"

Quinn raised an eyebrow, finally sensing the irony in Santana's voice. "No. You wouldn't." She almost warned. "You're my best friend."

"Ladies," Mr. Shuester poked his head out of the choir room. "Come on in, let's see what you got."

And with that, Santana led the two blonds into the choir room.


	3. Acafellas

Quinn absentmindedly twirled her promise ring around her finger, guiltily starring at a spot on the tile across the room.

"You three disgust me," Coach Sylvester was telling her and the girls from behind her desk. "What in god's name would possess you to join Glee club?"

"Finn," Santana answered boldly. "Finn joined and Quinn couldn't bear to be away from him."

"That's not true," Quinn replied defensively.

"Quinn, I have lost all respect for you," Sue admitted breathily. "You have betrayed me like the pilgrims betrayed England by breaking bread with the Indians." She looked to Santana. "I'm sorry, Santana, is that offensive?"

"I'm Latina…" Santana said, her eyes shifting awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said. "I didn't know that I was supposed to ask for your permission every time I left my house."

"Fabray, I want you to answer me a little question," Sue sighed. "When the pilgrims realized the errors of their ways, did they continue to feed the greedy tribes from their barrels of salted meat?"

"I don't know…"

"NO!" Coach shouted, smacking her desk with both hands. "They destroyed the Native communities by exposing them to small-pox and syphilis. Have you ever had syphilis, Q?"

Quinn scrunched up her face in horror. Santana did the same. Brittany nodded shamelessly.

Coach Sylvester continued proudly. "Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection. I myself have been blessed with it on two separate occasions. The great thing about it is that you can give it to someone while pretending that your only intention is showing them how much you care."

"That's horrible," Quinn cried.

"That's life," Coach Sylvester snapped. "You have to be sneaky to be successful. Now, what I'm proposing is that we destroy the glee club with our own brand of Syphilis. His name is Dakota Stanley. He's the choreographer for one show choir I like to call Vocal Adrenaline. He's one of the scariest people on the planet. Convince this little glee club that they need a professional to win, and I promise you, the sores will appear before you can say antibiotic."

Quinn couldn't believe what she was hearing? Was Coach Sylvester really asking them to sabotage their new friends? She wasn't okay with that, and she didn't think Brittany and Santana would be either.

"We're in," Santana said.

"Totally…" Brittany agreed.

Quinn should've known better.

* * *

><p>"Rachel! Wait up!" Quinn's voice shook slightly as she sprinted through the hallway towards the petite singer later that day. Rachel turned curiously and waited for Quinn to catch up to her. "Hey. I wanted to talk to you about something Glee related."<p>

Rachel smiled pleasantly as the two of them continued walking. "I wanted to talk to you too. As the leader of this club, I wanted to thank you for taking recruitment so seriously. You really came through for me, Quinn." Quinn felt herself blush, and Rachel quickly added. "For all of us…I mean…for the glee club,"

"But here's the thing," Quinn said. "We need to be a team; a united front; if we want to win sectionals… and I'm not sure if Santana's willing to be a team player."

"That's weird…" Rachel said. "Because I talked to her this morning and she seemed really excited about working with us. She's been doing her research. She read about this award-winning choreographer, and she wants us to hire him. I think it's a great idea."

"He's supposed to be pretty intense," Quinn tried. "I think we should start with something a little easier."

"Look, Quinn," Rachel said. She was starting to sound annoyed, but took a deep breath to remain collected. "I've been winning singing and dancing competitions since I could crawl. If there's one thing I know it's that you don't win by playing it safe." Rachel's eyes got big and comforting. She placed a hand on Quinn's arm, and Quinn became extremely aware of it. "We're hiring Dakota Stanley, okay? If you need help keeping up, I can help you. We'll be okay."

Quinn was hypnotized; lost in Rachel's eyes. She swallowed nervously as the brunette walked away from her. It wasn't until Rachel had disappeared around the corner that Quinn remembered that she was still concerned about Glee club. She didn't know why Rachel had distracted her so much.

* * *

><p>Quinn stood in front of the mirror in the lobby bathroom of the Carmel High auditorium. On the marble countertop in front of her there was a tray of hand towels, seated next to a little basket of complimentary lotions.<p>

"Seriously…?" She mumbled to herself. She thought she was pampered on the Cheerios, but Vocal Adrenaline was a whole different level of ostentatious. The Glee Club girls (and Kurt) had come to talk to Dakota Stanley in person. Everyone who's been to Carmel already on the first Glee Club field trip had insisted that Carmel was unreal, but for some reason, Quinn hadn't believed them.

She pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned in to closely to the crystal-framed mirror inspect her make up. She imagined that she was a princess freshening up at a ball.

"What's the point? As if you could be anything short of beautiful…" A voice teased her.

She blushed, turning to see Rachel coming out of a stall. Quinn was beyond flattered, but as the compliment settled in, her face fell.

"What's the matter?" Rachel said, stepping forward and turning on a sink to wash her hands.

"How do you do it?" Quinn asked slowly. "Why do you do things that make me feel good about myself when I was so mean to you?"

Rachel shrugged. "You apologized, Quinn. That meant a lot."

Quinn smiled lightly. "Rachel, you're so…" She couldn't find the words. "You don't stop impressing me."

"Well," Rachel smirked, almost cockily. "That's nice to hear."

And then Quinn found herself feeling entirely too guilty about everywhere else she might be at fault. "Rachel, look. Coach Sylvester is trying to take down the Glee club, and she told Santana to get you on board with the whole Dakota Stanley thing, and he's going to tear us apart and I really don't want that to happen…" The words spilled out of her mouth like a bucket of marbles.

Rachel didn't lose her composure. "I know. Santana's up to no good. That's why she's trying to get Mercedes to go after Kurt. All she's interested in is tearing people down."

Quinn's brow furrowed. "Then why are you going along with this?"

Rachel sighed. "I want to win, Quinn. I actually think having a professional choreographer is crucial. Maybe Santana thinks he'll tear us apart, but I think that we can prove her, and Coach Sylvester wrong."

Quinn blinked incredulously, and suddenly she couldn't help but smile. "See, that's what I'm talking about. That's what I like about you."

Rachel smiled too. "What…?"

"You're optimistic…you're determined…you're…strong…"

Rachel blushed and looked down at her feet. "It's funny…you seem to appreciate me more than anyone."

"You deserve it," Quinn told her.

Rachel looked up, her eyes filled with a look that Quinn tried hard to recognize. It was sad, in a way. It was almost a look of longing. Quinn suddenly felt something for Rachel that terrified and excited her. She wanted to kiss her. She almost did too, but she caught herself just in time.

Why was she having these feelings? Rachel was a girl. She didn't like girls, did she? And even if she did, did Rachel?

Luckily, Santana barged into the bathroom before Quinn could mull over it much longer.

"God, what are you freaks doing in here?" Santana asked loudly. "Let's go. I have to get home for dinner. It's enchilada night!"

Quinn and Rachel exchanged a final glance of uncertainty before hurrying after Santana, out into the lobby.


	4. Preggers

**Edit: thanks _AmyK1447 _for telling me that Quinn's eyes are Hazel, not green. **

* * *

><p>Quinn sat at a table in the school library, tapping her pen against the edge of the table and trying as hard as she could to focus on the history chapters that she was supposed to read by the end of lunch. However, he mind kept wandering. All she could think about was Rachel Berry.<p>

It didn't make any sense to her. Why was Rachel sitting so heavily on her mind? It wasn't as if she had anything to feel guilty about anymore. They were friends now. Yet, all she could see was Rachel's face. The thought of her humble smile made Quinn's stomach flip. What was it about that smile?

"Is this seat taken?"

Quinn looked up abruptly. Speak of the devil.

"No," She said. She felt color coming to her cheeks. "Not even kind of. Sit down."

Rachel grinned adorably as she lowered herself into the chair across from Quinn's. "Did you hear…?" She started. "Apparently Kurt's on the football team and he's teaching them how to dance."

Quinn tried to stop herself, but she laughed out loud. "What the hell?"

Rachel nodded. "Apparently, our Glee club already has some influence around here."

"As it should," Quinn giggled. There was a brief pause, and she awkwardly looked back down at her book. Her head shot up again as soon as Rachel started speaking again.

"So…I was thinking…"

Quinn nodded attentively, hoping she wasn't coming across as too eager to listen to Rachel.

"You know…I was thinking we could do some warm ups together after school. Singing every day is important, and I think it's ridiculous that Mr. Shuester keeps canceling practice."

Quinn's heart skipped a beat at the idea that Rachel wanted to spend extra time with her. "Yeah, totally," She answered lightly.

"Great!" Rachel beamed. "Meet me in the auditorium right after school."

* * *

><p>Quinn didn't get any of her history reading done, and prayed on her way down the hall way that there wouldn't be a quiz. Her mind was quickly taken off her homework when she saw a tearful Santana dart across the hallway several yards ahead, disappearing into the girls' bathroom. She quickly went to check on her best friend.<p>

"Santana…?" She called, bursting through the doors.

Santana was hunched over the sink, sobbing.

"Santana, what's the matter?" She asked, cautiously approaching her.

Santana looked up at her, glaring. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

Her anger surprised Quinn. "Did I do something…?"

Santana stomped her foot like a child having a tantrum. "All you've cared about lately is Rachel Berry and her stupid glee club. You don't give a shit about anything else!"

"Of course I do…" Quinn argued, completely caught off guard. "Santana, what is this really about?"

Santana took a deep breath, a wave of fear passing over her face. "Quinn, I'm sorry. It's not like this is really your fault…it's just…" She suddenly lost her words, whimpering shamefully down at her feet.

"You're scaring me." Quinn told her best friends simply.

"Q, I'm pregnant," Santana told her quietly. Quinn held her breath, in shock. After a few minutes of silence, Santana finally brought herself to look up at the other girl's face.

"Have you told Puck yet?" Quinn asked quietly. "It's Puck's, right?"

Santana almost hesitated, but realized how suspicious that would seem. "Of course it's Puck's!" She cried. "Who else's would it be?"

Quinn nodded in acceptance, suddenly realized that she had to take charge. "Santana, you'll figure this out." She nodded confidently. "I'm your best friend. I'm going to make sure you get through this, okay?" She knew if the roles were reversed, she'd want Santana to do the same.

Santana gave Quinn a wet blink, her face still scrunched up in horror. Finally, she moved in and gave the blond a hug. Quinn hugged her as she cried.

"I mean it, San," She nodded, stroking the back of her friend's head. "We'll get through this."

* * *

><p>Rachel was singing scales from behind the piano as Quinn walked onto the stage that afternoon.<p>

She stopped as soon as she saw Quinn walk in. "What's the matter?" She asked quickly. "You look upset."

"I'm fine…"Quinn responded. "I'm just…distracted. I'm…worried about a friend."

Rachel nodded, still concerned. "Well, it's none of my business, so I won't ask who."

"Yeah, thanks," Quinn nodded, approaching the piano slowly. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Rachel scooted on the piano bench to clear a spot for Quinn. "Sit down," She suggested lightly. "I was thinking we should go over some duet ideas…maybe a ballad or something to show Mr. Shuester that we're already thinking about sectionals."

"Great," Quinn was careful not to sit too close. "That's a really good idea, Rachel."

Rachel began playing a simple chord progression, speaking as she went. "So, what kinds of music do you like, Quinn?'

Quinn hesitated. "Old music, mostly…" She admitted. "Like…from the sixties and seventies…I like Simon and Garfunkel a lot."

Rachel nodded slowly. She stopped playing for a quick moment, before transitioning into the opening to "The Sound of Silence"…

Quinn was impressed. "You know it…?"

"I have to know that classics, Quinn," Rachel sighed. "Music is kind of my life."

Quinn smiled to herself. "It's kind of cool, you know? I wish I had something that was my life. There's nothing I'm really passionate about."

Rachel grinned, teasingly. "Not cheerleading…?" She asked.

Quinn shook her head. "I just have to have something to do, you know?"

Rachel nodded. For a moment, they were both turning their heads at once. Embarrassedly, they realized that their faces were uncomfortably close, and looked forward in unison.

Then, boldly, Rachel looked back. Her piano playing slowed. "What color are your eyes…?"

Quinn was surprised at the question. She slowly looked back at Rachel so she could have another look. "Hazel…" She said quietly, although it felt like she was losing her voice.

Rachel nodded. "They're so pretty…"

Neither of them actually realized that Rachel had stopped playing all together. Rachel was leaning forward slightly.

"Thank you…" Quinn wasn't sure what was happening; what she was feeling. Usually, someone being so close that she could feel their breath would seem like an invasion of her personal space. However, Rachel was right there, and it still didn't feel close enough.

The gap between them closed slowly and naturally. Their lips grazed lightly at first as both of them lost awareness of the world around them. And all Quinn could think was that she wanted to stay in that moment. She didn't want to come back down to earth. She grabbed one of Rachel's shoulders and pushed their lips closer together.

And then, Rachel pulled away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that…" She snapped nervously. It was weird because Quinn was under the impression that _she _had kissed _Rachel_. She was feeling the same catastrophic impact of realization and regret.

"Oh my god…" She didn't know what had come over her. Rachel was just so nice…so gentle.

"Look. I know you're straight…" Rachel began.

Quinn's stomach did a somersault. She scooted off the piano bench, rising to her feet.

"…You're not…?" She cried, completely confused.

"No, I'm not!" Rachel shook her head.

"Well, nobody told me!" Quinn cried.

"Nobody considers me important enough to talk about," Rachel mumbled to the keyboard.

"Oh my god," Quinn took a deep breath, placing her hands on her hips and spinning away to look away from Rachel so that maybe she could finally think straight.

"Look, you have a boyfriend. I knew that. I really did think that I could just be your friend…but your eyes…"

"I know. They're beautiful!" Quinn snapped, frustrated. "Look, maybe singing together was a bad idea."

Rachel shook her head sadly, but Quinn could tell that she understood. "Maybe…"

"I just…" Quinn swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "I really can't handle anything else right now, okay?"

"Totally…"

Quinn nodded. She couldn't stand to be there with Rachel anymore. "Great, then…" She said breathily, and then left Rachel at the piano without looking back.

* * *

><p>"Santana!" Finn's voice hit Santana's ears like a ton of bricks. She gasped at the shock of it, and started walking faster down the hallway, trying hard to avoid him. "Stop!"<p>

He caught up to her, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her around to look at him. She knew he'd be able to see that she was crying, and hated that he'd know how weak she was.

"Quinn told me what's going on with you," Finn practically yelled in her face. "Is there something I should know?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," She tried, but her voice was shaking too much to be convincing.

"If there's any chance that this baby is mine, I think I have the right to know."

"It's Puck's." Santana said flatly.

"But see, I don't think that's true…"

"Listen, Paul Bunion!" Santana snapped. "Quinn is your girlfriend. She's my best friend, and I don't want her getting hurt."

"But…if…" Finn stammered. Santana wouldn't let him get a word in.

"The baby is Puck's. Even if it comes out with bad posture and man boobs, I will swear that to the grave, do you understand me?"

Finn looked down on her, frowning, unable to speak up. For obvious reasons, this was not something he could accept.

"Great," Santana nodded at his silence. "So we're done here…"

And then she was gone.


	5. The Rhodes Not Taken

"What do you mean, she's gone!" Quinn cried, standing in front of her fellow glee club members as they gossiped amongst themselves in the front row of the choir room.

"M-Mr. Ryerson came back and cast her in C-_Cabaret_…" Tina told her nervously.

"I just don't understand why she would leave us," Artie added miserably. "We're never gunna win sectionals without her."

"Guys, don't think like

that!" Mercedes jumped in. "I got this covered. Berry isn't the only leading lady around here."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Finn asked, walking into the choir room. Quinn spun around.

"Rachel quit the glee club!" Quinn told him urgently.

Finn's brow furrowed. "Did she say why?"

"She wants to be in a musical." Quinn replied angrily.

"Oh. Well, maybe she'll come back when the musical's over." Finn said acceptingly.

Quinn rolled her eyes and went to sit down. As Finn took his usual spot next to her, Quinn couldn't help but think that she had something to do with Rachel's absence.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Quinn called when she saw Rachel in the hall that afternoon. "I need to talk to you."<p>

"If you're going to try to get me to come back to the glee club, your efforts will be wasted." Rachel said simply, continuing to walk forward without as much as a glance at Quinn. "I realized that theatre is my true passion and there's no way I'm giving it up."

"Music is your passion, Rachel," Quinn shot back at her. "You told me that last week in the auditorium."

"Right…the auditorium…" Rachel shook her head, as if she was trying to shake the memory loose.

"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Quinn asked urgently.

"Of course not," Rachel shrugged unconvincingly. "I like to think I have a little more maturity than that."

"Look, I'm not going to hold it against you," Quinn continued, her voice lowering so no one could hear her. She grabbed Rachel's shoulders and dragged her into a quite corner. "It was a mistake. It was just as much my fault as it is yours. Just…come back to Glee club. We need you."

Rachel starred at her for a moment, her big eyes filled with sadness. "You kissed me back," She finally said.

Quinn's stomach felt like it had a ball of lead in it. "…I know…"

"That's what makes this suck, you know?" Rachel took a deep breath, trying hard not to lose it too bad. "I like you so much. If I have to see you every day, all it's going to do is make me want you…and I don't want to waste my time going after what's either a girl who can't make up her mind, or a pathetic closet case."

The words stung. Quinn didn't know why Rachel had to be so mean. "Rachel, I'm confused. I'm sorry if I…"

Rachel interrupted her. "Quinn, you don't owe me an explanation." She said, a bit more loudly than Quinn would've liked. "It's in the past. Now, just let me have my distance."

Quinn watched Rachel walk away, and tried to ignore the fact that her heart was breaking ever so slightly.

* * *

><p>Finn set his tray next to Santana's in the lunch room that day. He glanced around to make sure they were alone, and then set a carton of chocolate milk down in front of her.<p>

"You should be getting calcium," He told her. "I Googled what you should do, you know, when there's a baby in your belly…"

Santana picked up the milk and stared at it for a moment, before glancing up at Finn, a horrified expression on her face.

"I want our baby to be healthy. I'm going to make sure you take care of yourself."

"Finn… do yourself a favor and walk away," Santana slid the carton back over to him. "In a week, this will all be over and you and celibate Barbie can live happily ever after."

"What do you mean it will all be over?" Finn asked.

Santana blinked at him. "Listen, Tinky Winky… You and I: we wouldn't last three days as parents. We're sophomores in high school. We don't have jobs."

"We'd figure it out!" Finn tried, his voice shaking. "You can't just…get rid of it and pretend this isn't happening."

"People do it every day," Santana shrugged angrily. "I already made the appointment, and by law, you have no say, so…"

"Look. I think everything happens for a reason. What happened at the party was a mistake, and you and I might not be together, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to give our baby the future it deserves."

"Coming from this town," Santana responded bluntly. "You don't even have the future you deserve…"

* * *

><p>Finn was determined. He knew that the Glee club would never get anywhere with the drunken 40-year-old that Mr. Shuester had gotten to replace Rachel, and after Mrs. Pillsbury told him of the possibility of a music scholarship, he knew the glee club needed to win. Maybe if he could soften Rachel up…<p>

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked, approaching her locker.

She closed it boredly. "Finn, your girlfriend already tried to get me to join glee club again. It's not going to happen."

"I don't want to talk about that." Finn shrugged innocently.

Rachel closed her locker and eyed him suspiciously. "…You don't…?"

"I actually just…I missed you…I was wondering if you wanted to go bowling tomorrow night."

Rachel's face scrunched up in horror. "Excuse me…?"

"Bowling…you know…pins…balls…rented shoes…"

Rachel shuddered. "Finn, if you're so thick that I have to spell this out for you, so be it then." She daintily cleared her throat. "I am not interested."

She began to walk away. Finn followed, his face weighed down with confusion. "Look, can't we just go on a friendly outing without you assuming I'm hitting on you?

"It's not the fact that you asked me to go bowling," Rachel shrugged. "It's the way you asked. You were trying so hard to charm me…"

"That's not true!" Finn defended himself.

"I don't know what your agenda is, but I don't like it."

"You're kind of full of yourself Rachel."

Rachel laughed out loud. "Am I…?"

"Yeah…and you're treating me like shit."

Rachel had had enough. She spun to face him. "Do you want to talk about treating people like shit!" She shouted. "If I had a girlfriend like Quinn, I would be doing everything in my power to keep her around. But you…you completely take her for granted; going around and hitting on other girls! It's pathetic!"

"I said I wasn't…"

"Goodbye, Finn," Rachel said, marching off. Finn watched her go, absolutely traumatized.

* * *

><p>Santana emerged from a stall in the girls' bathroom, after puking her guts out.<p>

"They call it morning sickness," A high voice said from the sinks. Santana looked over, embarrassed and surprised to see Quinn. She didn't know anyone had followed her in. "It's extremely misleading."

Santana knew she was referring to the fact that it was six PM.

"You're lucky," Quinn continued. "A lot of people think you're just nervous to perform in the invitational."

"Of course I'm nervous," Santana mumbled. "We have a forty-year-old alcoholic singing lead."

"You should be thrilled," Quinn told her. "I thought you wanted the glee club to fail."

Santana sighed. "Yeah, well, maybe it's growing on me."

Quinn nodded, oddly pleased with her best friend's change of heart. Her face fell, though, when she realized that Santana was now staring into the sink basin, looking like she would burst into tears at any moment.

"Are you okay…?" She said, moving toward her friend.

"No, I'm not okay!" Santana cried. "I feel like shit! I can't keep doing this. I have to end this..."

Quinn's face contorted in horror. "You can't mean you're thinking about getting an abortion…" She hissed.

"I was thinking about it!" Santana wailed. "I was sure that's what I wanted. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it's not something I can do. I'm so stuck, Quinn. I don't know what to do."

Santana was growing hysterical, and Quinn couldn't think of anything to do but take the other girl in her arms again. "Have you told your parents yet?" Quinn asked gently.

Santana shook her head wildly. "I couldn't do that."

"They might be able to help you figure it out." Quinn tried. "All I can tell you, is that if you have any doubts about terminating the pregnancy, then don't do it. You can find adoptive parents. You can figure this thing out."

Santana let out a few more heavy sobs, and then slowly pulled away from Quinn, wiping her face. "Oh god, we have to go perform, don't we?"

Quinn held Santana by the arms. "If you don't feel up for it, Mr. Shuester would understand."

Santana shook her head violently. "No. I want to do this. I can do it."

Quinn nodded, and linked arms with the other girl, guiding her out into the hallway.

She was surprised to find Rachel Berry waiting expectantly outside the bathroom doors. She glanced at Santana. "I'll meet you in the choir room, okay?"

Santana nodded, thankfully not asking any questions as she walked away.

"The musical sucked," Rachel told Quinn once Santana was out of ear shot. "It's over. I quit. Mr. Ryerson was a monster; I couldn't put myself through that anymore."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," Quinn said flatly; cautiously.

Rachel glanced down the hallway. "Is Santana okay?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, she'll be fine. She's feeling a little sick, but it's probably just nerves."

Rachel looked unsure. "Oh…okay…"

"Rachel, I really think you should rejoin Glee club." Quinn said suddenly, jumping the gun. "You don't really have an excuse now that the musical's not happening."

Rachel shrugged. "I know, it's just…"

Quinn interrupted. "It doesn't have to be awkward. It's high school. Things blow over quickly. I promise you that in a week you'll be over me."

Rachel's face broke into a smile. "You're too humble, Quinn Fabray."

"So what do you say?' Quinn asked. "Are you in or out?"

Rachel giggled, blushing for reasons she couldn't explain. "I'm in. I'll come back."

"Perfect," Quinn smiled. "You better come and get into costume, then. We have a show to put on."


	6. Vitamin D

**A/N - Thanks for the reviews! You guys are too sweet. This chapter has a lot of pregnancy stuff in the beginning but power through it, because I got some intense Faberry for y'all toward the end. **

* * *

><p>"Dude, are you okay?"<p>

Finn hadn't realized he was dozing off until Puck was in his face, waking him up. He sat up quickly, wiping a line of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Finn blinked. "I just haven't been sleeping too well."

Puck's eyebrows furrowed suspiciously. Finn suddenly wondered if Puck had any idea what was going on.

Quinn had talked Finn's ear off the night before, as she sat in front of him on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"She's so stubborn," She said, talking about Santana. "She refuses to see a doctor. She won't tell anyone what's going on. She shouldn't be cheering…yesterday she told Coach Sylvester the reason she's been marking is because Glee club is exhausting her. It's creating unnecessary conflict; not just for her, but for Britt and I. But that's not what I'm mad about. She's allowed to be a little selfish. The real problem is that she's so embarrassed that she's putting herself at risk, and I don't know what else I can do for her."

"So, she's going through with the pregnancy…?" Finn asked strangely, trying hard not give himself away. This was news to him, and it hurt him tremendously that Santana would let him believe that she wasn't pregnant anymore.

"Of course she is," Quinn told him, as if it was the only option.

That night, Finn tossed and turned, thinking about his baby and all the things he wanted to do for it. He considered cutting himself loose: breaking up with Quinn and just taking responsibility. However, he couldn't make himself imagine the look on Quinn's face when she found out everyone she cared about was deceiving her.

And so, there was no solution. He sat in the choir room with the boys, zoning out while Puck went on some spiel about how the nurse would let him take a nap if he needed one. It took him a moment to process Puck's words, but then he realized that did need a nap. In some respects, it felt like all he really needed.

* * *

><p>"Boys versus girls…" Rachel sighed, lowering herself into the chair beside Quinn. "These guys think it'll be easy, but I'm still convinced that we should bring our A game." Quinn loved Rachel's drive and determination. She admired her for it. "I couldn't agree more," She said confidently. "What do you have in mind?"<p>

Rachel raised her eyebrows, silently telling Quinn to wait and see. She cleared her throat and stood up. "Attention, ladies!" She called out, getting their fellow girls' attention. "What do you all think about a mash up of _Halo _and _Walking on Sunshine_?"

Mercedes and Tina nodded boredly. Brittany gave a half-hearted thumbs-up, and Santana gave no indication that she was even paying attention. She slouched in her chair, her arms cross, staring straight ahead with a vacant look in her eye.

"San, you okay?" Quinn asked.

Santana blinked, and sat up quickly. "Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Are you sick?" Brittany asked gently, lightly placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Do you need me to lend you my Fraggle Rock tapes?"

Santana half smiled. "…what…?"

Brittany shrugged. "Whenever I'm sick, my mom plays Fraggle Rock for me. It's, like, the cure-all."

"I'm sorry, Brittany," Santana sighed. "What I have can't be cured."

"…Small Pox…?"

Santana shook her head sadly. "Look, Britt, I've been going through something." Quinn held her breath, wondering if Santana had forgotten that there were other people in the room. "Actually, you all are going to hear it eventually so I might as well tell you all." It was like the air had drained from the room completely. "I…well…Puck and I…we're going to have a baby."

"Puck…?" Mercedes asked. She seemed to care more about that aspect of the news than about anything else.

"Yes, Puck," Quinn answered protectively. "Is that a problem?"

Mercedes shook her head. "No. Not at all…"

"You guys can't tell anyone," Santana told them. "I only have a few more weeks before I become a freaking cow and I don't want people to start looking at me differently until they absolutely have to."

"Y-Yeah…of c-course…" Tina said kindly.

"So, _Halo_…" Santana said, taking a deep breath, and wanting desperately to change the subject. "I'm in. But if Punky Brewster thinks she's taking the Beyonce solo, she has it coming."

* * *

><p>Naturally, the girls didn't keep their promise. Within twenty-four hours, every single one of the glee boys knew Santana's secret. None of them knew what to do with it, especially not Puck.<p>

They'd all taken some weird supplement from the new nurse (Mr. Shuester's wife), to enhance their performance. Puck waited until he'd changed out of his costume and came down a bit from the high to confront Santana.

It was after rehearsal. She was alone at her locker pulling out her jacket when he marched up to her.

"So I hear congratulations are in order," He said smoothly.

"Thanks," She said flatly, refusing to look at him.

"I meant you should be congratulating me, MILF," Puck chuckled. "Since, apparently, I'm going to be a daddy."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm not asking you for anything." Santana closed her locker, her eyes sparkling wickedly as she finally zeroed in on him.

"I hope it's a boy, don't you?" Puck gushed, playing along. "I can build him a tree house; teach him how to shave; take him to Indians games."

"Noah Junior…I like the sound of it…"

"I'm assuming he'll never grace the fields himself, though," Puck sighed, feigning regret. "Judging by his progress now, I'd say he's going to be a small one."

"You know, it happens…" Santana shrugged. "Legend has it; my great-grandfather was practically a hobbit."

"How far along are you?" Puck asked, reaching forward and just barely stroking Santana's abdomen with his index finger. She didn't flinch. "Six months…seven…? you'd have to be. The last time we hooked up was what…? Spring break…?"

"Aw, you remembered," Santana cooed.

"Oh, distinctly…" His eyes narrowed. "So distinctly, in fact, that I remember the exact kind of condom we used."

"Condoms break," Santana smirked. "And you're a creep."

"Look," Puck finally dropped the act. "I don't know what you think you're doing, or what kind of sympathy you're looking for with this unwed mother act, but I'm going to tell you right now to cut it out."

"…Act…?" Santana's mouth suddenly gaped. She couldn't believe that he thought it _all_ was an act.

Puck continued, "What do you want from me?"

Santana was beginning to tremble. "I told you! I just wanted…"

Puck interrupted. "…To humiliate me…?"

"No!" She shook her head, completely at a loss. "Look, I didn't know what else to do! You were the only person that she would believe…that she…wouldn't judge me for…"

Puck froze, cocking his head oddly. "Who the hell is _she_?"

Santana shook her head. "Look…it's not an act. I wouldn't lie about being pregnant just to manipulate people. I mean, who does that?"

Puck couldn't bring himself to answer. He just stared at her, concerned. She suddenly looked like a completely different person. "So…you're really…?"

Santana nodded, her eyes wide, terrified of what he was thinking of her.

"Who's the father?" He asked again.

She hesitated. "I'll explain everything…" She said quietly. "But only if you promise to help me."

* * *

><p>"It's crazy," Rachel said, lying on her stomach on Quinn's bed, an issue of <em>Seventeen <em>open in front of her. "I can't believe the boys would take drugs just to beat us. It's kind of pathetic, don't you think?"

"Well, we're planning on doing the same thing, aren't we?" Quinn replied from inside her walk-in closet.

Rachel sighed, explaining it for when felt like the hundredth time. "We're evening the playing field. It's acceptable to cheat when…" Suddenly she was cut off by Quinn exploding into the room, looking radiant in one of her several yellow sundresses. She hurried over to her full-length mirror, unaware of the fact that Rachel was watching her every step.

"I think I like this one," Quinn said, examining the outfit. Rachel couldn't help but notice that the back of the dress was completely open. "Do you mind zipping it up for me?"

Rachel forced herself to function like a normal human being who wasn't completely aroused. She walked up to Quinn and stood as far away from her as she could while still being able to fasten the zipper. When she was done, she gave a little twirl to see how the skirt moved, and Rachel kind of hated her for not realizing what a tease she was.

Quinn turned to her and beamed. She looked so great; so…sunny. Rachel couldn't help but smile back.

"Your turn," Quinn told her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the closet. "Let's see if any of them fit you."

Rachel realized as she entered that she hadn't really seen Quinn in anything other than her Cheerios uniform. Everything she owned was so feminine. Being in her closet was like being in the closet of one of the dolls she had owned as a little girl.

"I really like dresses…" Quinn admitted. "I always wish I had more opportunities to wear them, but I guess I'm sort of stuck with the uniform."

She sorted through a few hangers, and finally pulled one off the rack. It was a simple cotton dress- yellow, of course, for the assignment – with a plunging neckline and short sleeves.

"I'm glad you don't already have a yellow sundress, because I don't think anything else will look as perfect on you as this does," Quinn admitted sheepishly.

"You don't know that," Rachel blushed. "I haven't even tried it on yet!"

"Well, it looks like shit on me," Quinn shrugged. "The shopping gods wouldn't have brought us together if there wasn't a reason." She shoved the hanger into Rachel's hands.

"Why did you buy it if it looks like shit?"

Quinn shrugged illusively. "We'll find out once it's on you, won't we?"

She walked out the door slowly, leaving Rachel to try it on.

* * *

><p>"I think we won," Rachel said, breathing hard as the girls poured out of the choir room, all of them headed to the bathroom so that they could change back into their school clothes.<p>

Quinn nodded quickly. She had such a rush from the supplements Mrs. Shuester had given them. She had so much energy that she could barely think straight. Both she and Rachel were shaking from the adrenaline rush.

"You were so great on the solo," Quinn grinned, placing a hand on Rachel's arm. Rachel looked down at it, trying not to show in her face how the contact excited her. Quinn pulled her hand away, catching herself. "Sorry…"

"Its fine," Rachel beamed. "You were great too. Everyone was great…"

"Thank you." Quinn said, blushing. She'd been right the day before; the dress looked perfect on Rachel. It wasn't just that. Rachel looked perfect in general. Her skin looked fresh and soft. Her curls were wonderful and shiny. Before Quinn knew what she was doing, her fingers were in Rachel's hair.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, not backing away. She was lowering her eyebrows flirtatiously. Quinn's stomach flipped. Why did Rachel have to look at her like that?

"Your hair…um…" Quinn took her hand down. "Your hair looks great."

The next moment seemed charged with electricity as the two girls stared each other down. Their team mates had disappeared from sight, but Quinn and Rachel couldn't move.

"We should…um…we should get our clothes…" Rachel finally stammered, thinking maybe what she was feeling was all in her head. Quinn's signals in her bedroom had been confusing enough for Rachel, but now there was so little persuading Rachel to believe Quinn had meant it when she'd said they'd be able to continue their relationship as friendly Glee mates and nothing more.

"Yeah, we should," Quinn was saying, but it was empty words. Rachel knew it.

So, instead, they flew at each other, their mouths attaching in a heated embrace.

"Come on…" Quinn panted, as Rachel's lips started down her neck. She began to push her into the nearest empty classroom. "In here…"

She grabbed Rachel's thighs, right below her perfect ass and lifted her up, carrying her about a foot over to the nearest table and dropping her on it. Rachel straddled Quinn's torso, shoving her tongue into the cheerleader's mouth, her fingers buried in Quinn's soft, blond hair.

"Shit…" She mumbled, as Quinn's hands traveled up the back of her dress, lightly running her finger tips over the small of her back.

Quinn let out a choked laugh, as Rachel proceeded to kiss every inch of her face. "I have no idea what I'm doing," She admitted.

"Do you think _I_ do?" Rachel hissed, tightening her legs around Quinn's hips, an aching heat overtaking her pelvis. "Oh god, Quinn, you're so perfect."

Quinn was sucking hard on Rachel's neck, with much more urgency than she'd ever sucked on anything before. She wanted to ravish the girl in front of her. She wanted to explore her. And with that realization, she pulled away, suddenly realizing what she was in the middle of.

"I don't know what came over me," She said, her voice shaking. "I'm not gay."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "You're obviously a little bisexual or you wouldn't have had your hands on me the way you just did."

"Rachel, I'm serious…" Quinn cried.

"So am I!" Rachel shouted, hopping down from the desk, and straightening out her dress. "This is real, Quinn. You're not just experimenting. You want me. It's written all over you!"

The disappointment in Rachel's face was too much for Quinn to handle. She began to cry, and hated herself for it.

"You have to give me some time, Rachel. I don't know what to do…" Quinn said. "I can't be…you know…" It was becoming more and more real, and she couldn't even bear to say the words out loud anymore. "Do you know what Santana would say! Do you know what my parents would do?"

"What, do you think that I don't know how you feel?" Rachel cried. "People are constantly talking about me. They blame my dads for _raising me gay_. They think I'm some freak who is intentionally alienating herself. I can't help it that I love girls, but everyone else sees it as a reason to hate me."

Quinn chuckled meanly. "You're not doing much to promote the lifestyle…"

"Promote…?" Rachel was incredulous. "Quinn, it's pretty simple. Either you are or you aren't."

"I'm not," Quinn said, shaking her head and wiping tears from her face. "It was the vitamin D. It was getting to me. I'm not attracted to you at all."

"That's a lie," Rachel said, moving toward Quinn. "It's a lie, and you know it."

Quinn couldn't make herself back away. She continued to cry. "Stop it…" She tried.

Rachel shook her head. "I can't…" The next kiss was sweeter than the ones before. Rachel lightly pressed her lips against Quinn's. She pulled away, and could see the vaguest traces of acceptance beginning to appear on Quinn's face. "You can have all the time you need. But I know something special when I find it, and I swear to you, I am not getting away that easily."

And after that, Quinn couldn't help herself. She kissed Rachel again, and knew that she would never be able to stop.


	7. Throwdown

Quinn paced back and forth in the empty algebra classroom, wringing out her hands. She took a deep breath and tried to tell herself that everything would be okay, but she was nervous. She'd never broken anyone's heart before.

"I got your text. Is everything all right?"

Quinn swallowed hard. "Finn, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Finn's heart had been racing ever since he checked his phone on the way to football practice. If Quinn urgently needed to talk to him, it could only mean that she knew something he didn't want her to.

"You should probably make it quick. I have to go to practice." He told her quickly, stupidly hoping that she wouldn't go off on him if she didn't think she had the time to.

"I'm breaking up with you," She said quietly, but surely, giving a gentle nod.

"Why…?" Finn asked suspiciously, frozen, fully believing he knew the answer. To his surprise, however, Quinn didn't look angry. She looked…guilty. "Quinn, why are you doing this?"

"I'm sorry, Finn," She shrugged, dropping her hands to her sides, her voice shaking. "I really tried, but I can't make myself want you."

In the back of his head, he knew he shouldn't be angry, however, he would've almost preferred that the reason Quinn dumped him be something he did, rather than just him in general.

"Fine, do whatever you want," He snapped. "But I can't promise that my relationship status on Facebook will change tonight. I have a lot of homework to do. I might not log on."

He turned and stormed out of the room.

Quinn blinked, her guilt replaced by judgment. "Facebook…?" She mumbled after him. "Really, Finn…?"

And just like that, it was over. It was like a weight off her shoulders. She was free.

…But free to do what exactly?

"Did you do it?" Rachel was waiting for Quinn at her locker, just like she said she would be.

"Yeah," Quinn spun her combination, inexplicably afraid to look the shorter girl in the eyes. "It's done."

"We should celebrate!" Rachel said, leaning flirtatiously against the next locker. "Why don't you come over…? We can watch a movie or something."

Quinn felt her cheeks heat up. "Rachel…"

"We don't have to do anything," Rachel reasoned with her. "I just want to spend time with you…I'll admit, I'm attracted to the idea of snuggling up with you under a throw blanket, but we can even work our way up to that if you're not comfortable. We can take opposite ends of the couch. I'll even sit at the dining room table if that's what it takes."

Oh god, she was just too adorable. Quinn fought a smile. "Rachel, stop..."

"What…?" Rachel asked innocently.

"I wasn't kidding. I really do want time to sort through all of this."

"Well, it's hard to sort through your feelings without a friend to help," Rachel tried. "I want you to let me be there for you, Quinn."

Quinn examined the hopeful face of the girl in front of her. It was so hard to let her down. "Maybe we can do something this weekend. Something...public…you know…supervised."

Rachel couldn't help but smirk. "You're afraid you won't be able to control yourself."

Quinn's face had fallen serious. "You're right. That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

Rachel eyes did that thing again; where they got all big and emotional and concerned. Quinn couldn't stand it. "This weekend's fine for me."

* * *

><p>The next day, Quinn walked into Glee club to find Coach Sylvester standing in the front of the choir room alongside Mr. Shuester. The adults divided the glee club in half, pitting the "minority" students against Quinn, Puck, Rachel, Brittany, and Finn. She instantly knew that it was going to be a stressful week.<p>

Sure enough, Sue called her into her office the next day.

"Q, you're still dating the fellow who played Sloth in _the Goonies_, aren't you?" Sue asked first thing, pulling out a chair for Quinn to sit in. "Oh wait, it wasn't him, was it? I'm so sorry; I'm always confusing Chunk's big buddy with the quarterback of the football team."

Quinn lowered herself into the chair. "Finn and I broke up," She said, politely disregarding Sue's rudeness, as always.

"And here I was about to prey on your insecurities and manipulate you into causing conflict." Sue sighed. "But, I guess this is better. It allows me to be straight forward with you. After all, with Lurch out of the picture, your loyalties are no longer divided. It's good to have you on my team for real, Quinn."

Quinn didn't know what to say. She put on the sweet smile she used when she was trying to convince her father to let her stay out past curfew. "Look, coach. We've been down this path before. We tried getting the Glee club to hire Dakota Stanley and all it did was it brought them closer together. Maybe it would be better to just let us fail on our own, I mean, it's not like we're _really _that good anyway. You have nothing to worry about."

"Ms. Fabray, let me make one thing clear to you." Coach said in a low, scary voice. "If there is one thing Sue Sylvester is not, it is a quitter. I fight for to the death. And if anyone…" Her voice suddenly rose in pitch again. "…refuses to assist me in my inevitable victory, whether or not I get what I want in the end, I make sure they loose. Now Quinn, high school is a scary place, especially when you're a loser. More talk like this and I'll make sure you spend the next two years in a spiraling nightmare of social misfortune. So why don't you clarify that for me? Did you just tell me to back off the glee club?"

Quinn hesitated. "No. I just…"

Sue interrupted quickly. "Fantastic. Now, I have a little plan that I think you're going to have fun with."

* * *

><p>Later that day, Quinn was cornered in the hallway.<p>

"I need to talk to you,"

Quinn felt her heart skip a beat. Why was Rachel doing this to her. "Oh. Okay…is it about this weekend?"

"It's actually about Santana. I think someone said something about…you know…the situation. Jacob Ben Israel is threatening to blog about it."

"Are you kidding me!" Quinn felt sick for her best friend. "That's awful. Why would he do that?"

"I'm currently in the process of dissuading him…" Rachel said, crossing her arms uncomfortably. "I gave him something I would've rather held on to. Let's just say he's going to feel really stupid when he finds out I'm a lesbian."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "You didn't…?" She was horrified. "…you didn't, like, _do _something with him, did you?"

Rachel took a minute to realize what Quinn was implying. "…No!" She was vaguely amused. "No. I just gave him a pair of my underwear."

Quinn blinked and, once the shock wore off, started to laugh. "You did what?"

Rachel pressed her lips together hard, color rushing to her cheeks. She began laughing as well.

"What the hell kind of a bribe is that?" Quinn wailed, grabbing Rachel's shoulder for support.

"I don't know!" Rachel pressed her hands to her cheeks. "It was all he wanted."

"Rachel!" Quinn couldn't stop, she was practically falling over. "Oh god…Santana really owes you. That's ridiculous."

Rachel sighed, linking her arm in Quinn's and guiding her down the hallway. "I'm glad I could amuse you." She said pitifully.

Quinn just nodded, wiping tears from her face, and stealing another glance at the beautiful girl on her arm.

* * *

><p><em>"Tell me how I'm s'pose to breath with no air,"<em>

Quinn stood behind Finn and Rachel, wanting so badly to laugh at the horrifying sight she was witnessing. Finn was getting way too into his performance, trying to look sexy and singing right in Rachel's face. Rachel, however, was having none of it. She seemed so uncomfortable.

Quinn knew what she was supposed to do when the song was over. She was supposed to speak up, just like coach Sylvester told her to. She couldn't do it, though. Rachel deserved the solo. She wasn't going to complain about having to sing back up. That would just hurt Rachel's feelings. Rachel was doing so much for everyone else, and no one was giving her the repayment she deserved. It wasn't fair.

Quinn knew how far gone she was. At that point, she would've done anything for Rachel. Part of her wanted to completely abandon her vow to "sort through her thoughts". Part of her felt there was no sorting to be done. Rachel was it. But the better part of her told her that everything was happening too fast. What if it was all in her head? What if Rachel was just an experiment? She owed to not only Rachel, but to herself, not to make some sort of promise she couldn't keep or a commitment that she wasn't one-hundred percent sure she could honor.

She couldn't kiss Rachel again. Not yet. Not even if her lips seemed like the most appetizing thing on the planet. Not even if her short skirts and perfectly toned thighs were driving Quinn crazy every time she strutted down the hall.

"Quinn, are you okay?"

Quinn snapped out of her deep thoughts, blushing as she realized that she'd been staring at Rachel's legs ever since the song ended. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're feeling good about the vocals?" Mr. Shuester asked, just to make sure. "You don't think we need to go over them again?"

Quinn shook her head quickly. "No. It's perfect. The whole song is."

* * *

><p>Despite Quinn's efforts to keep Sue's plans from exploding, the sabotaging of the Glee club still occurred as planned. Sue turned Puck and Brittany against Mr. Shuester, and the two teachers had a screaming match in the auditorium. It ended, of course, with the kids coming together and celebrating how proud they were to be minorities. Quinn suspected the outcome would've been the same even if she had gotten involved. It made her feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside to know that the club was so close that they were gaining immunity to Sue's antics. It made her feel like she could really trust these kids.<p>

On the other hand, it reinforced her understanding that she would never be able to trust Sue.

She came across Finn and Santana in the hallway later that day. Santana was sobbing into Finn's chest while he held her in his arms. She approached them cautiously.

"Santana, is everything all right?"

"No!" Santana snapped. "Nothing is all right. Somebody opened their mouth! I swear to god, it was that Berry chick. I knew she was a bitch from the moment I met her."

"Santana, don't be ridiculous," Quinn defended Rachel quietly. "Rachel's been great. She actually did a lot to try to stop the rumor from spreading."

"You think she's a real saint, don't you, Fabray," Santana sneered. "What, are you in love with her or something? Is she your new best friend?"

"Why are you being so mean…?" Quinn took a step back. She had done nothing to deserve the way Santana was treating her.

"Because I'm furious…!" Santana snapped. She was bordering a nervous break down.

Finn let out a small "whoa". Quinn shot him a look of annoyance, wondering why he was even the one comforting Santana in the first place. Where had Puck been through all of this?

"My life is falling apart!" Santana continued. "I'm having a baby at sixteen and MTV won't even accept my application to have it filmed!"

"Santana, it's going to be okay…" Finn tried.

"No, it's not. Do you know how hard I worked to get a spot on the cheerios? And she just throws me off…"

"Wait…" Quinn tried to imagine going to practice every day and not having her best friend beside her. Cheering without Santana just wouldn't be…cheerful. "Did Coach Sylvester actually kick you off the squad?"

Santana nodded miserably. "She said she couldn't keep a pregnant cheerleader on the squad…It's not safe or something like that."

"Well, you'll get back on next year," Quinn tried. "You'll have the baby…and…you'll start working out again….and…"

"Quinn, I really admire your attempts at motivational speaking, but can we please be real here?" Santana sniffed. "You know how Sue is. You piss her off once; you do anything to break the perfect clone stereotype, and she's done with you for good. I won't get a second chance."

Quinn shrugged. "You don't know. Maybe there's a heart in there somewhere…" But she knew Santana was right. Selfishly, her thoughts strayed away from Santana and the pregnancy. She hadn't helped Sue with her plans like she was told to. What if her spot on the Cheerios wasn't safe either? She tried to imagine life out of uniform. She would probably feel like a completely different person. She couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

"You should come over, okay?' Quinn said, shooting Finn a glance that practically ordered him to walk away and mind his own business. "You could use some girl time."

Santana seemed unsure, but eventually nodded. Maybe it didn't solve all her problems, but it was the only solution that either of the girls could think of.


	8. Mash Up

**A/N- Here's the beginning of a Puckleberry bromance. Their interactions in canon are always perfect, so there's no way I could do it better, but I tried.**

** As always, thanks for the nice reviews. I'm really, really happy you guys are liking this. **

* * *

><p>When Puck was eight, he fell on the ice while playing a game of hockey. Luckily, he managed to turn his face to avoid breaking his nose, but still, he never forgot the cold pain that shot through his left cheek upon impact.<p>

Getting a slushy thrown in his face was a similar sensation.

"Don't mess with me, Karofsky!" He barked angrily, watching Dave lower his cup triumphantly. His eyes stung, and started to water. He powered through it, diving after the larger athlete and shoving him against the wall. "I could shatter your spine into a million pieces, do you realize that?"

"Try me," Karofsky shoved him away, rolling his eyes carelessly. "I could have the team on you with the snap of my fingers. Do you really think you have any power at this school now that you've knocked up one of the top cheerleaders? You're a joke."

Puck clenched his fists. "Yeah, well at least I'm getting tail."

Karofsky chuckled meanly, backing away. "All I'm saying is you should watch your back, Puckerman."

Puck watched Karofsky wander off, dropping his empty cup in a nearby trash can. He didn't know how to react. Was covering for Santana really going to get him into this much trouble? He knew that if it was absolutely necessary, he could take any one of those Hockey guys in a fight, no problem. But still, he didn't like the idea of loosing his street cred.

"Are you okay?" A soft female voice asked from behind him. He turned around to find Rachel Berry blinking sympathetically at him. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Five minutes later he was in a chair in the girls' bathroom, his head hanging back over the sink while Rachel rinsed out his Mohawk.

"I know it's been hard on you…" She was saying, her fingers gently massaging his scalp. He couldn't help but realize how great it felt. "You and Santana, I mean. I can't imagine what it's like to have to deal with something like this."

"It's easier than you think…" Puck shrugged.

Rachel nodded. She shook some excess water off of her hands and patted Puck on the shoulder. "I think I've gotten out all the corn syrup I can for now." She told him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Puck Nodded, standing up. "I'm always okay. The puckasaurus doesn't let anything knock him down."

Rachel laughed openly. "Yeah, that's kind of lame. Never call yourself that again."

Puck couldn't help but laugh at himself too. "Yeah, it was kind of lame, wasn't it?"

* * *

><p>For the next twenty-four hours, all Puck thought about was Rachel. He'd never noticed her before, but suddenly he was realizing that she was kind of cool. She was Jewish too. He'd always wanted to date a girl who shared the faith.<p>

"I got you this," He held a grape slushy out to her at her locker the next time he saw her. "I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I got grape. I mean, who doesn't like grape, right?"

Rachel was speechless as she stared at the offering, her brow furrowed. "Um…thanks…?"

"It's actually a thank you gift," Puck sighed. "You know…for helping me out yesterday. I really appreciated it.

"Oh…?" Rachel still didn't understand. She'd never seen Puck be nice to anyone.

"So…I was wondering, do you want to work on some mash-up ideas after school?"

Mr. Shuester had asked the glee club to find a song that went with "Bust a move". Rachel hadn't even made an attempt at the assignment. She believed that it was a hopeless case. Maybe it would be easier to have some help. After all, she had wanted a male duet partner since the beginning of the year.

"Yeah…sure…that sounds great." She stammered. "Um…we can go over to my house."

And that's exactly what they did. It was kind of awkward as they moved up the stairs to Rachel's room. After politely offering him a snack, which Puck coolly declined, Rachel didn't have much else to say to him. He figured it was okay. Maybe he just made her nervous.

When they entered her room, he set his guitar down on the floor and looked around. Clearly, she hadn't re decorated since she was a little girl. It almost made him feel better about the fact that he still had a set of Power Rangers sheets in his linen rotation.

"So, how good at guitar are you?" Rachel asked him. She gestured awkwardly to her bed. "You can sit down if you want."

Noah stayed standing. "I'm good, I guess. I started playing in fifth grade, so I've had a lot of practice."

Rachel nodded. "Great. You can just whip it out, then."

Puck was a gentleman, so he didn't giggle at the possible innuendo, as he so desperately wanted to. He got out his guitar, which he had just tuned in the choir room during lunch, and put the strap around his shoulder. "So do you have any ideas yet?"

"As you are probably aware, a great variety of pop songs can be played with a simple progression of four chords. To start off, why don't we try G, D, E minor, C…?" Puck begin playing the simple progression. Rachel smiled, and explained, "There's this thing I do…I choose a chord progression and I just sort of run with it…I let myself be inspired by the muses…"

Puck just nodded and played. He had no idea what this chick was talking about, but she looked really hot when her eyes went all crazy.

Rachel picked up her hairbrush and turned to the mirror, "_Is it more than you bargained for yet; I've been dying to tell you everything you wanna hear; cause that's just who I am this week…"_

"I love this song," He said, just as Rachel shifted gears.

_"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me; speaking words of wisdom; let it be…"_

But still, she wasn't satisfied. She hummed for a moment, closing her eyes.

"Slow it down," She demanded. Puck obeyed without thinking. _"I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me; papa; paparazzi…"_ She grinned a bit. "I like this. This might be the one."

"Really…?"

She didn't answer. She burst into song again. _"You're the reason for the teardrops on my guitar; the only one who keeps me wishing on a wishing star… _No! Wait! ..Stop!"

Puck took his hands off his instrument and blinked at her, completely overwhelmed.

"…I have the perfect song."

She suddenly flew across the room and grabbed a folder from her desk. The next thing he knew, she was shoving a tab sheet into his hands. She waited for him to practice the chords, and then she settled in, clearing her throat and turning back to her mirror. _"What a girl wants; what a girl needs; whatever makes me happy sets you free; and I'm thanking you for knowing exactly; what a girl wants; what a girl needs…"_

He suddenly stopped. "My ears are starting to hurt…" It was true. Things were moving too fast for him. He was getting a headache. "…can we take a break?"

She seemed perfectly willing to cut him some slack. He realized, suddenly, how weird it would be if they didn't have the music to fill the silence. He decided that he should just jump the gun; get down to the real reason he'd come over. "…you wanna make out?"

Rachel's face fell instantly. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, you know…we're a couple of hot Jews. There's obviously some natural chemistry we should test."

Rachel laughed in disbelief. "Oh my god…"

"We should do it, you know, for science…"

"I'm sorry." Rachel said through an uncomfortable grin. "I thought I made if very clear. You're just here to work on the glee assignment."

"And to hit on you," Noah said without hesitation. "Come on Berry, you're kind of a bad ass. You don't let anything get to you and that's awesome. We'd be great together."

"God, what is with you men!" Rachel cried out miserably. "Is it really so hard to commit to a woman! Santana would kill both of us if she knew what you were doing right now."

Puck hadn't really thought through what helping Santana out meant. He was beginning to regret it. "Listen, Babe. Santana and I aren't together."

"Oh, right. She's just having your baby…" Rachel mumbled judgmentally.

"That's not important. What's important is that I'm hot and single, and so are you."

"Single…" Rachel mumbled resentfully. "Well, I can assure you, Puckerman, that's not by choice."

"I'm providing you with a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Puck continued persuasively. He flexed. "Have you seen my guns? They're of a rare breed."

Rachel chuckled. "Cute, but you're not my type."

"Bull shit,"

"Look, I really just wanted to collaborate with you…you know…artistically. I think you're very talented and I've always wanted to befriend a rugged guitar player because I think a guy like you would be fun to tour with if my Broadway career fails and I'm stuck recording alternative pop. But that's all I want, so if you're not interested in singing with me, you can leave."

"You say you're not single by choice!" Puck was quick to argue. "So why reject me so quickly? You can't complain about not having a boyfriend if you're going to reject studs like me. Why be so picky?"

"God, you don't get it, do you?" She rarely had to say it out loud. It never mattered enough. "I don't want a boyfriend, Puck."

"Make up your mind!" He laughed.

"I made it up a long time ago." She finally said her posture rigid. "I'll have you know that I'm extremely gay."

To that, Puck's eyes just narrowed, challenging her. "Shut up…"

"What, are you looking for some sort of proof?"

He got a hungry look on his face. "Please…?"

Rachel's jaw dropped. "No! Gross. I was joking you pervert!"

Noah just blinked at her, absolutely amazed. And then, suddenly, they both started laughing.

"Well. I feel like an idiot." He said, putting his guitar back in his case and scratching his Mohawk. "I'm sorry, Berry. I must've misread the signals."

"What signals…?"

"Yesterday…in the bathroom…?"

"I was being nice."

"Well, I know that now!" Puck shrugged. He sat back down on the bed, and she came over and lowered herself next to him. "So…you don't like guys at all?"

"Not like that, no," Rachel responded bluntly.

"But…you like girls." Wow, he was dense. "Do you, like…oh my god. Have you ever, like…done the nasty with a girl? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"First off, that's extremely personal. But no…to both…" She sighed. "There's someone I really like, but she's not ready to come out yet."

"And you didn't bang her…?" Puck felt it was necessary to clarify.

"Shut up!" She groaned. "It really sucks, okay? The thing is, I know she loves me too, and I know that if she wasn't so afraid of what people would think, she'd just admit it instead of insisting that she doesn't know how she feels."

"I mean, can you blame her for being scared? People really suck. They go looking for reasons to tear you down. Even when you don't deserve it they're throwing iced beverages in your face."

"Do you think that happens in other schools or just ours?" Rachel asked.

Noah chuckled, but truth be told, he didn't know either. "So, who's the girl?"

Rachel should have hesitated. But she'd hesitated far too many times in the past few months, and it was becoming torturous. "It's Quinn. I know it's bad, but I love her and I don't know how to stop."

Puck pressed his lips together, trying hard not to smile. He wanted to be nice to Rachel because she seemed so upset. He realized that nothing had changed. He still really liked the girl. And weirdly, now that he knew she was never going to sleep with him, he trusted her so much more. "Look, I have something I've been dying to tell someone and now that I have dirt on you I know you'll keep my secret out of fear."

"You're gay too?" Rachel teased, nudging him lightly.

He shook his head. "Nice guess, but no." He took a deep breath. "You know that kid of mine…? It's not really my kid."

"What…?" Rachel was shocked. She hadn't seen that coming.

Noah nodded. "It's Finn's."

"What…!" He just kept nodding. "But you…and he…and why did you…?" She couldn't even piece together full sentences with all the questions that were shooting through her mind.

"I guess I thought I cared enough about Lopez to help her out. I didn't know I'd get attacked by the hockey team for taking a little bit of responsibility."

"Yeah, that's horrible." Rachel finally realized something. Hadn't Finn, the alleged baby-daddy, been dating Quinn up until a week ago? Did Quinn have any idea at all? Would it matter, now that she and Finn had split?

"Anyway, you're not going to tell anyone, right?"

Rachel replied instinctively. "No. Of course I won't."

"Great…" Puck sighed. "Yeah, if feels good to get that off my chest…We should work on the song again."

"Yeah…"

What he didn't realize was that by getting it off his chest, he was putting it on hers.


	9. Wheels

**A/N- I don't actually have much to write here except for thanks again for reading and reviewing and all that jazz. **

**I only have my chapters planned out up through "Sectionals", but I'm starting to brainstorm ideas for the second half of season one and I'm excited, so you should be too. Or not. It's fine. It's a free world. Kind of...**

**YEAH. Here's chapter nine. *triumphant fist bump***

* * *

><p>Santana had her purse tucked tightly under her arm, glancing around self-consciously as she made her way down the school hallway. She'd been out of uniform for two weeks now, and on top of that, she was beginning to show. She was trying her best to hide her pregnancy, but most of the clothes in her wardrobe were tight-fitting and revealing. Today she was wearing a simple white baby-doll dress and a yellow cardigan. She felt absolutely ridiculous.<p>

"Wow," Finn said, closing his locker and gawking at her as she approached him. "You look…"

"They're Quinn's," Santana snapped. "She let me borrow some stuff."

Finn's nostrils flared uncomfortably. "That's…nice of her…"

Santana didn't want to think about how unfair it was. "Look, Hudson, we have a problem," She hissed, sliding her purse down her arm and shoving her hand into it. She pulled out an opened envelope. "I finally went to the doctor that everyone was so insistent that I see."

"What?" Finn sounded a bit hurt. "I wanted to go with you. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, don't worry. Baby beluga is as healthy as can be," Santana snapped. "But do you know how much it costs to see a doctor without insurance? I can't afford this, Finn, and if I don't pay it, they're going to start sending bills to my parents."

"Santana, we're going to have to tell them eventually,"

"_We're_ not going to do anything. _I'm_ going to deal with los padres, and _you're _going to take some responsibility and find a way to make this envelope disappear."

She thrust it into his hands and stormed off. He watched her go, suddenly in a state of panic. How was he supposed to take responsibility? He'd never worked a day in his life. He barely even got his homework done on time. Looking down at the envelope, everything suddenly felt real to him, and he didn't want to deal with it.

* * *

><p>"I think it's nice," Quinn said as she measured out a cup of flour in the near-empty Home Economics classroom. "I mean, Mr. Shuester was right, we were being a little insensitive.<p>

A few days earlier, people hadn't reacted with much sympathy when Mr. Shuester told them they couldn't afford a handicap bus for sectionals, and that Artie might have to ride to the competition with his dad.

"Well, the bake sale's definitely a good idea," Rachel said, cracking an egg. "But making us go around in wheel chairs is a little much."

Quinn notice's that Rachel's face had twisted up, and that she was standing several steps away from her bowl.

"Are you okay?" She asked, trying not to laugh.

"I don't eat eggs," Rachel admitted squeamishly. "They gross me out. They always have."

Quinn smile in return was a mix of empathy and adoration. Rachel was cute when she was grossed out. "Here," Quinn said gently, reaching out and grabbing the bowl from under her. "You start mixing the butter and brown sugar, and I'll take care of the eggs."

"Really…?" Rachel asked. "You're too nice."

Quinn just blushed and started in on the second egg. Rachel, however, found herself unable to continue with her work. She stared at Quinn instead. When Quinn was done with the eggs, she looked up and realized she was being watched.

"What…?" She giggled, reaching for the brown sugar to measure it herself.

Rachel just shook her head. "I'm just spacing out…" She admitted. "I'm kind of nervous for the Diva-off tomorrow. I don't know if anyone's going to vote for me."

Mr. Shuester had offered Rachel the chance to sing one of her favorite songs from "Wicked" at sectionals, but Kurt had demanded the chance to audition for the solo as well. However, for some reason, he didn't want to be the one to pick who got it. Rachel wasn't sure how much she actually cared about the song. There would be other solos, but she had to talk about something, or else she'd spend the rest of the hour staring at Quinn and making things awkward.

"Of course people are going to vote for you," Quinn said simply. "I'm voting for you."

"Kurt's, like, close friends with everyone, though. And Finn and Santana both hate me…"

That was true, but Quinn didn't want to admit it, just because it was so unjustified. "That's not true."

"I mean, it's just another audition," Rachel sighed. "I'm just…nervous…"

"Well, for the record, I'm rooting for you," Quinn smiled warmly using only her eyes, which was so beautiful that Rachel had to hold her breath for a minute. Quinn looked down at her bowls. "I think we're ready to mix."

"You really are perfect, you know that?" Rachel heard herself ask. She wanted to kick herself. Why had that happened?

"No one's perfect," Quinn said, unfazed, reaching for the mixer.

Rachel shook her head, "You are. You're so nice and so pretty and everything I've ever…" Why was she still talking? "…I mean; I know no one's perfect, but to me…you are..."

Quinn was holding her bowl with both hands, staring down at the mound of flour inside it. She knew if she looked up at Rachel, she'd lose control. She knew that the things Rachel was saying to her were the things she'd wanted Rachel to say since the moment they met.

She looked up. "Don't…" She tried, her voice getting quiet.

"I'm trying not to," Rachel's voice was saying. "You keep telling me to give you space. You keep telling me you need time, but then it's just this empty possibility, and I can't stand it!"

Quinn felt angry suddenly. She felt put on the spot. "Then don't!" She snapped. "Move on! Don't wait for me!"

Rachel clenched her jaw for a moment, fighting back tears. "So that's it? You're saying that there's no chance we're ever going to be together?"

Quinn swallowed. "You're the one complicating things, Rachel."

Rachel tried to be strong. She nodded quickly. "Fine," She started "I guess I'll just see you in glee club."

Rachel flew out of the room, and Quinn stood behind. She choked on the first sob, and then felt the hot tears start to run down her face. She hated herself for reacting like that. It wasn't even how she'd wanted to react. It was a terrifying situation, though. She felt so vulnerable with Rachel. She hated the possibility that she could get hurt.

"Rachel, wait!" A guy's voice called after her. She didn't want to turn around to see who it was. "Wait!" He yelled again. His footsteps ran, catching up with her. She tried ducking into the girl's bathroom, but that didn't slow him down.

Puck pushed the door open without hesitation. "Hey, I was heading to my locker after football practice. Is everything okay?"

She shook her head, breathing heavily. "Why does it have to suck so much? I thought liking someone was supposed to feel good!"

"This is high school, babe," Puck broke the news to her bluntly. "The good feelings don't come until later."

Rachel crossed her arms, sniffing hard so she wouldn't get snot everywhere.

"Hey…" Noah quickly went into the bathroom stall to get some toilet paper for her. He came back and shoved a wad into her hands, putting his arm around her. She blew her nose loudly. "Do I need to slap that bitch across the face?"

Rachel laughed in spite of herself. "No. She doesn't deserve that," She said honestly. "Really, I just need to stop living in this fantasy. I was so stupid, thinking that it might actually work out."

"It's not stupid," Puck told her, pulling her into a full-on hug. "You're just a positive person, Berry. It's one of the many great things about you."

Rachel nodded, finally slipping her arms around his torso and hugging him back.

"Oh my god," A third voice cut in. Puck and Rachel flew apart to see Santana coming into the bathroom. "Are you, two, like, hooking up? …In the school bathroom?"

Rachel was scared for a moment, until she remembered that Puck and Santana weren't actually together. Suddenly, Santana remembered that they were supposed to be.

"God, Puckerman, I can't believe you would do this to the mother of …"

"Save it, San, she knows." Puck said boredly.

This only angered Santana more. "Asshole…!" She cried. "You told Berry? Who else knows?"

"Santana, don't worry about it, I'm not going to tell anyone, he just…"

"He just what…?" Santana cut her off. "Wait, why are you crying?"

"She's having a bad day," Puck tried.

"Oh no…? Did she realize that the father of her baby is an incompetent oaf and that by the time all of her doctor bills are paid off, the country will be inaugurating its first robot-lesbian president?"

"Um…" Puck wasn't sure how to answer that question.

"Santana, I get it. You're going through a lot…" Rachel tried to sympathize.

Santana just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You two have completely destroyed my motivation to urinate. So you can go back to your kosher beef injection. Just lock the door, okay? I know I hate everyone, but no one deserves to witness this."

Santana turned around and left them alone.

"You know, I know I should hate her but I actually feel kind of sorry for her." Rachel admitted. "What she and Finn did to Quinn; it sucks…but I can only imagine how scary it must be to go through something like that and not have anyone who's really there for you."

Puck completely understood. "I'm helping her where I can, but…"

"I know," Rachel shrugged. "It's not actually your responsibility."

"Yeah," Puck sighed. He reached up and gently wiped a deposit of tears from under Rachel's eye.

Rachel laughed at herself. "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

Puck shrugged. "It doesn't matter." He told her honestly. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home. We'll stop for a slushy on the way."

* * *

><p>Finn walked in on Quinn crying over the stove.<p>

"Um…are you okay?"

She spun around. "I'm fine," She said, stupidly trying to pretend like she wasn't crying. "I'm baking some cookies. It's my grandmother's recipe."

"You know, my mom said that everyone always thinks they're using their grandma's recipe, but ninety percent of the grandmother's got the recipe from some magazine."

Quinn blinked wetly at Finn. What was he even doing here? "That's fascinating, Finn." She said unconvincingly.

"You know, Mike said that Rachel said that some of the glee club was going to meet here to work on the bake sale. He and Matt should be on their way from the locker rooms at any minute."

Quinn suddenly felt stupider. She'd had the impression that Rachel had invited her to bake after school for some one-on-one time. Now that she knew that other people had been invited, she regretted snapping at Rachel. Maybe the other girl was just as afraid to be alone together as she was. Maybe she'd known all along that she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut.

"Look, are you sure you're okay?" Finn asked her, going over to her counter. "Because you're baking alone and that's kind of weird…"

"No it's not. People bake alone all the time." Quinn replied miserably.

"Well, what concerns me is the fact that you're crying."

She rolled her eyes. "Like you care…"

"Look, I don't get why you have to be so mean to me!" Finn cried. "I mean, yeah, we broke up, but why do you have to be so angry about it? Why can't we, like, be friends or something?"

Quinn wanted to shout that it was because he was a total idiot and with all the stress she was under, she just didn't have the patience for him. Of course, she was too nice to do that. "I don't know…" She mumbled. "It just doesn't work like that."

He frowned intensely at her, and she knew that he wasn't going to give up. "I'm still not really sure why you broke up with me, but if it was something bad that I did; you know, if I hurt you...I'm sorry..."

"Get over yourself," Quinn mumbled. "It was...personal. I realized that you weren't what I wanted."

"And what did you want?"

_I want a girl..._ It was the first thing that popped into Quinn's head. She'd known it all along. She bowed her head, and tried to stop herself from crying any harder than she already was. She couldn't stand it. All this time, she'd been trying to pass it off as confusion, but now she was sure. It had never hurt her so much to lose someone, and now it was clear why. The people she'd lost before weren't girls. She was a lesbian. She knew she was. Even if she was bisexual, she'd never felt the way about a guy that she did about Rachel. It sucked, but she had to live with it.

Finn must have realized he'd hit a sore spot. He was almost afraid that he'd actually have to deal with her emotions. Maybe they really didn't have to talk about it. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. Maybe that's what Quinn needed him to do. "So...uh...you said you're making cookies. What's next?"

Quinn realized she had to give in. She couldn't put on a whole bake sale on her own. "Cupcakes… we should probably, um…make some cupcakes."

"All right, where's the recipe?"

As Quinn went for the cookbook, Mike and Matt entered the room enthusiastically. As much as Quinn wanted to continue to cry over Rachel, she had no choice but to hold it together.

* * *

><p>"What's this?" Finn stood in front of his locker, staring down at his hand.<p>

"We're bros, right?" Puck asked lightly. "And when a brother's in need, it's the other brother's responsibility to help him out."

He'd just given Finn a wad of cash. There had to be at least a hundred dollars there. "I don't get it." He said nervously. There had to be a catch.

"Look, I tried to give the money to Santana but she wouldn't take it from me."

"Dude, are you crazy?" Finn said. "It's not your baby. What are you doing?"

"It's not my money either," Puck shrugged. "It's, like, in the Glee Club's public domain. Rachel and I put in some…extra work to aid the bake sale's success and…"

Finn's jaw dropped. "You stole from our friend in a wheel chair! I'm pretty sure that breaks, like, ten laws."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's only one," Puck patted Finn on the shoulder smartly. "And look, this is just left over. We still had enough money for the bus."

Finn remained apprehensive. "Really, why are you doing this?"

Puck hesitated briefly. "I guess I just care about you guys. I can't imagine how scary it must be, you know?"

Finn was touched. He nodded, speechless.

"Just…don't tell Santana it was from me, okay?"

"No, of course not…"

Puck gave Finn's shoulder one final grab. "Perfect. See you in practice, bro."

* * *

><p>Quinn was losing her mind. She was sure of it as she turned onto Rachel's street. Her thoughts had been racing non stop all day, and finally she couldn't take it anymore. She parked in front of Rachel's house and threw herself out of the car.<p>

She knocked on the door because it felt more like the thing to do. Luckily, Rachel was the one to answer the door.

"You know, I have a doorbell," Was the first thing she said.

"Are you alone?" Quinn asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, my dads are at pottery barn. What are you…?"

Quinn let herself in. There really wasn't anything stopping her at that point.

"Close the door," She ordered steadily. Rachel was clearly intrigued, and did as she was told.

Quinn took a breath, and then started talking a mile a minute. "You're perfect to me too. I know I should've told you when you told me but the truth is that this; these feelings…it's all completely new to me, and I'll be honest, I'm not going to want to tell my parents or the kids at school for a long time, because I'm just not that brave. I'm afraid that you'll push me to do it, and I'm also afraid of falling too hard and letting you hurt me. But…the thing is, there's no point in pushing you away just because I'm afraid. I know that because I regretted everything the second you walked away, and I just know how much I'll hate myself if I ever send you away again. I want to be with you. We can work through everything else because…you're perfect to me too. And I want to be with you."

Rachel had to take a moment to process everything. For a second, she thought she was dreaming. She repeated it in her head; _"I want to be with you"_.

Then, her face broke into a huge grin. She finally realized that everything was real: very, very real. She wanted to laugh and cry and have every single emotional reaction possible, because that was everything she was feeling. She giggled, tears coming to her eyes, and lunged forward, doing the only logical thing by planting a warm kiss on Quinn's mouth.

She stood on her tiptoes, her arms moving over Quinn's shoulders and securing around her neck. Quinn kissed back, completely elated with her own success. She took the small of Rachel's back and dipped her a bit, tightening her hold as she stood up straight again. Their lips broke apart and Rachel buried her face in Quinn's neck, inhaling her scent; like strawberries and cream. Quinn ran her hand up Rachel's back and slipped into her hair, fingering it gently.

"Don't change your mind again, okay Fabray?' Rachel's muffled voice said, comfortably close to Quinn's ear.

"Rachel, this is it." She nodded, letting her cheek rub against Rachel's head. "I'm never going to change my mind again."

Rachel let out a choked sigh of relief, and kissed her new girl friend all over again. "Me neither…" She said triumphantly.

And in that moment, both of them really believed it.


	10. Ballad

**A/N- Uuuuummmm. I'm getting a little smutty. I can't help it. I'm supposed to warn you guys about that kind of thing, right? Right?**

**I went back and forth about actually writing the Finntana stuff or just letting you guys assume that it directly paralleled the Fuinn stuff in the canon version of "Ballad" but theeeen I thought I might as well just rush through and add it in even though I'm bored with writing Finn. **

**Anyway, enjoy. **

* * *

><p>Rachel wrote her name on a slip of paper, pulling out the sheet of gold star stickers that she kept in the back pocket of her music binder so her signature would be complete.<p>

She nudged Quinn, who was sitting in the seat next to her.

"What…?" Quinn whispered, smiling goofily.

Rachel pointed to the star. "Feel for it."

Quinn nodded. She liked that plan.

Mr. Shuester wanted the club members to partner up and work on potential ballad options for sectionals. Although he told them their partners would be chosen randomly from a hat, Rachel didn't want to leave anything up to fate.

Half the club members put their names in the hat, and the other half stood up to draw names. Rachel held her breath as Finn walked to the hat. She hoped to god he wouldn't pick her name.

He read his slip, his face falling. "Kurt…" He read aloud. Rachel noticed Kurt's face light up. She'd always suspected he had a crush on Finn, and felt a little sorry for him. Clearly, it was never going to happen.

"Go next," Rachel hissed at Finn, nervous that someone like Santana would pick her name if Quinn didn't get to it right away.

Quinn tried to keep a poker face as she strut to the front of the room. She dug around in the hat, and finally picked out the right piece. "Looks like it's you and me, Rachel…" She said in front of everyone. Rachel smiled hugely at her girlfriend, giving a small clap of delight. She knew their duet would be perfect.

The rest of the group chose their partners. Tina was paired with Mike, Mercedes with Puck, and Artie with Brittany. Santana was who was left over. Matt would've been her partner by default, but had gone to the emergency room that morning because a spider crawled into his ear.

"Santana, I guess you're stuck with me." Will told her shamelessly.

Santana shook her head. "Okay. I don't know if it's your dimples or your tendency to wear belts with jeans, but you remind me too much of the old single men who hang around the playgrounds in Lima Heights. Where do you want me to sing this love song to you, Mr. Shue: the back of your windowless van?"

"It's okay Santana, when vans don't have windows it means that what's inside is just too awesome for the rest of the world to see," Brittany said knowingly. "Like maybe they're party buses going to Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. That's why they have candy in them."

"You worry me…" Kurt said to Brittany.

"All right…" Mr. Shuester put an end to the conversation, his brow furrowing in confusion, "How about a group of three? Does anyone want to volunteer?"

Every single choir member hesitated. Santana looked around for only a moment before she decided she didn't want to wait for a sympathetic hand.

"You know what, I'm not really feeling this assignment," Santana grabbed her bag and stood up, smoothing the skirt of yet another dress borrowed from Quinn. "Maybe I'll go visit Matt in the hospital."

"Santana, come on!" Mr. Shuester called after her. It was too late, though. She was already out the door.

* * *

><p>Santana slammed the front door of her house, and dropped her school bag on the floor of the foyer. She knew she wouldn't feel like doing homework tonight, and that she probably wouldn't touch it until she left for school in the morning. Kicking off her ballet flats and wincing at how sore her feet were, she padded barefoot over to the narrow table that sat against the wall across the room.<p>

The days she had glee rehearsals were hard. She couldn't get home fast enough to check the mail before her mom got home and make sure any doctor's bills hadn't come yet. She nervously flipped through the stack of letters her mom had thrown down on her way in.

"You're home early. Are you looking for something, niña?"

Santana jumped nervously. She felt the baby stir inside her, and resisted the impulse to throw her hand to her stomach in surprise.

"No, mamá. I'm fine." She said quickly. "I wanted to see if _cosmo _came yet."

"Oh. It came yesterday," Her mother said carelessly. "I'll bring it up to your room. There's this article about incorporating food into foreplay that's just a riot."

Her parents had always been very candid when it came to talking about sex, and she was sure that they expected her to have it. She was also sure that they expected her to be safe. That's why she froze every time she tried to tell them the truth. They always talked about how stupid the girls on MTV had to be to get pregnant in an age where so many preventative methods were available. They'd lose all respect for their daughter if they knew that she was one of those "stupid girls".

Santana's mother looked her up and down, "Borrowing clothes from girly-blond again are we?" Her mother never used Quinn or Britt's names. Instead it was always "girly-blond" and "dumb-blond".

Santana looked down at her baby-blue dress. "I don't know, I kind of like it."

"Pastel colors make you look like a marshmallow peep," Her mother sneered. "You've been dressing so weird since you quit the cheerleading squad. Do I need to take you shopping; remind you what a hot body you inherited so you'll stop covering it up?"

"Aren't you supposed to tell me I look good in everything?" Santana asked, rolling her eyes and starting for the nearby staircase.

"Of course you do, baby. I just want you to feel beautiful."

"I have homework," Santana snapped, reaching the top of her stairs, preparing to start ignoring her mother. "Call me when dinner's ready."

Mrs. Lopez heard her daughter's door slam, and glanced at the bag that was still by the front door. She would've loved it if homework was actually the reason her daughter had walked away from her.

* * *

><p>"I don't think it'll work…" Quinn sighed, lying back on her bed.<p>

"Why not…?" Rachel climbed onto the bed and crouched beside Quinn, brushing a lock of hair behind her own ear as she looked down at the blond. "It's the ideal ballad."

"Endless love…" Quinn shook her head, still not liking the idea. "It's a male-female duet. It would sound weird."

Rachel shrugged, and reached out to stroke Quinn's shoulder. "I'll let you sing the Dianna Ross part if it's really that important to you."

Quinn hesitated. She sat up. "Don't you think maybe it'll be a little bit…obvious…I mean…if we sing _Endless Love_. I think we should do something…tamer."

Rachel tried not to look upset. "Fine…." She said shortly. "I told you I'd give you time and I will."

Quinn wasn't fooled. "You're mad."

"No. You're right. We shouldn't do a love song. Let's do _The Winner Takes It All_. We can both sing without singing to each other."

"Rachel…" Quinn felt bad.

"No. It's fine."

Quinn quickly cupped Rachel's face in her hand and gave her a quick kiss. "I want to make you happy," She tried assuring the brunette, her thumb gently stroking Rachel's jaw line.

Rachel reached up and lightly placed her hand on Quinn's wrist, pressing her cheek harder into her soft palm. "I want to make you happy too," She smiled.

Quinn's eyes sparkled. She leaned in and kissed Rachel again, harder this time. Rachel kissed back, trying to match her girlfriend's intensity. She was hopelessly overpowered.

Quinn grabbed Rachel around the middle, and gently lowered her onto the bed, hovering over her. Rachel put her hands on Quinn's shoulders.

"You can be rather frisky, Fabray," She said, grinning wickedly.

Quinn shook her head. "Maybe we shouldn't talk right now…"

Rachel laughed. "Maybe not…"

Rachel took Quinn in her arms and pulled her down on top of her, so their bodies were pressing together, their legs strewn out side-by-side on top of Quinn's comforter. She sucked lightly on Quinn's lower lip for only a moment before Quinn got antsy and roughly shoved her tongue into Rachel's mouth. Quinn lifted her lower half up and slung one leg over to the other side of Rachel so that she was straddling her. Rachel, taking Quinn's waist, and giggled as Quinn gave a soft, playful bounce and started trailing kisses around her jaw line.

Rachel began to move her hands, rubbing Quinn's waist slowly but rhythmically.

"I love it when you do that," Quinn whispered. She suddenly let go of Rachel and bit her lip, hesitating.

"What…?" Rachel seemed nervous and amused at the same time.

Quinn decisively removed her cheerios top. Rachel gaped at her as she revealed her perfectly toned body.

"Touch me like this…" Quinn said with a nervously innocent gleam in her eye that just about killed Rachel. "What you were doing…do it like this."

She dove back in for another kiss, and Rachel obeyed her, lightly rubbing Quinn's waist with her hands. He body was so toned; so soft and flawless. Rachel was trembling, wanting nothing more than to have her hands on the rest of it. Rachel's hands were warm and gentle. Quinn wanted them everywhere. It was the first time she'd ever felt like that; so hungry to be touched. Her energy was suddenly concentrated in her pelvis. She spread her legs and sunk into Rachel, grinding herself against her. Her pony-tail fell over her shoulder, getting Rachel in the face.

"You're so beautiful…" Rachel gasped in between kisses. Her hands traveled up Quinn's back and fingered her bra strap. "Is this okay?" She asked.

"Don't even ask anymore," Quinn urgently started removing Rachel's shirt as well.

"Oh my god…" Rachel was almost giddy with excitement. She unhooked Quinn's bra quickly and ran her hands over Quinn's perky c-cups. Quinn, completely losing herself, started to suck on Rachel's shoulder.

And then they heard them. Footsteps coming down the hallway, "Quinnie…? Is your friend staying for dinner?"

"Shit…" Quinn hissed, flying off Rachel and scrambling for her clothes. Rachel had her own shirt back on in a matter of seconds. "Um…yeah…sure!" She called to her mom, hoping that would be enough for her to walk away. She had no idea where she'd thrown her top.

"Okay. I'll tell your father to throw on another chicken breast!"

The footsteps went back down the hallway, and Quinn and Rachel looked at each other, thrilled by the close call.

"How did she know I wanted breasts for dinner?' Rachel finally asked.

Quinn threw her hand over her mouth, giggling wildly.

"Maybe we should cool down," Rachel suggested.

"Yeah, probably…" Quinn replied breathlessly. She finally spotted her top at the foot of the bed, and grabbed it quickly, knowing that it was cruel to make Rachel look if she wasn't going to touch.

"Wow…" Quinn suddenly blushed, as she realized what had just been happening. For some reason, Santana's voice popped into her head. _Girls want sex just as bad as guys do_. She felt kind of guilty, realizing for the first time that it might be true. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should take things a bit slower. I mean, I'm still president of the celibacy club."

It wasn't what Rachel wanted to hear, but she cared enough about Quinn to respect her. "Yeah, that was getting kind of naughty, wasn't it?"

Quinn flipped her pony tail over her shoulder and sat back on the bed. "So, you were saying something about an Abba song?"

* * *

><p>"Kurt, can you keep a secret?"<p>

This was it. Finn Hudson felt as thought he was hitting rock bottom. He was ready to confide in Kurt, of all people, because no one else seemed to care enough to listen. He wouldn't have even considered it, but Kurt had realized Finn was on edge, and called him out on it. And honestly, Finn thought he might explode if he didn't get the stuff he was feeling off of his chest.

"Of course I can," Kurt said cheerfully. They were sitting side by side on the piano bench in the auditorium. Usually Finn wouldn't have liked that they were so close to one another, but today he was too distracted to care.

"I'm the father of Santana's baby. Puck's only pretending to be so Quinn doesn't find out I cheated on her. But it's driving me crazy because our parents don't know and I got this bad feeling that she's going to give the baby away and I just want to take care of everything and be a good dad, you know?"

He said it all so fast that Kurt could barely follow him. He blinked strangely. "I see…"

"I'm kind of freaking out. And I'm sure you're song ideas are great but I just can't think about that because…I'm kind of freaking out."

"Look, do you want my advice?" Kurt asked. Finn nodded. "Tell your parents," Kurt sighed. "Tell her parents too. You guys are kids; you can't do this without them. And chances are they'll find out eventually."

"I don't know how to do that, Kurt!" Finn cried. "I can't tell them, and I can't raise this baby."

"Hey…" Kurt put his hand on Finn's shoulder. "I'll help you through it. We'll make all fit with the ballad project. It's supposed to be about singing your feelings, right?"

Finn nodded. "I guess…" He mumbled.

"You can do this," Kurt told him. "Just breathe."

* * *

><p>Finn stood on the Lopez's front porch that night, leaning on the doorbell. After several minutes, Santana opened the door.<p>

"What the hell do you want?"

Finn held up the boom box he'd been carrying, wearing a determined look on his face. "It's time…"

"Time for what…? Liposuction…?"

Finn lightly pushed her aside and marched into the foyer. He set the boom box down on the table.

"Mr. Lopez?" He called. "Mrs. Lopez?"

"Santana, what's going on?" Santana father's stern voice called. Before long, both her parents were appearing in the front room. Santana's heart began to race.

"Finn, I'm not joking. Whatever you're going to do…"

"Um. Sir, ma'am…" Finn began. "You probably recognize me. I'm Finn Hudson. I'm the quarterback of the football team that your daughter cheers for…well…used to cheer for. Um, and if you don't mind, there's something I'd like to do."

With that, he turned on the boom box and began to sing.

_"You're having my baby…what a lovely way of showing how much you love me…"_

As he went on with the verse, Santana stood; paralyzed with horror…It took about thirty seconds before her father realized what was going on and turned off the music. His nostrils flared as he stared down at his feet. Santana began to shake. She had the urge to just run out the door, and avoid what was coming all together. Mrs. Lopez watched her husband, knowing exactly what was coming.

Finn had no idea what Mr. Lopez said next. He started going off on his daughter in Spanish, going at her and screaming directly in her face. Mrs. Lopez tried to push him away and calm him down, but she was clearly over powered. It was only a few seconds before Santana was sobbing at the foot of the stairs while Mr. and Mrs. Lopez screamed at each other.

Finn began to tone out the adults. He suddenly realized what a mistake he'd made. All he could focus on was how Santana had crumbled.

"You son of a bitch!" Suddenly, Mr. Lopez was coming at him. "I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!"

"Daddy! Please!" Santana screamed. "You're making everything worse."

Mr. Lopez backed up, fuming. "Get out of my house," He snapped at Finn. "And take the whore with you."

"Seriously…?" Santana pressed her hand against her stomach, ready to puke. "Daddy, please." She'd expected telling her parents to be bad, but never this bad. He was throwing her out? Just like that?

"Honey, I'm so sorry…" Her mother chimed in. Santana gawked in horror. How could her mom just accept it?

Then, there was a sudden shift. The reality set in and she realized she had to accept it. Santana inhaled sharply, putting an abrupt end to her tears. "Fine," Her voice still shook. "Fine, I'll go if that will make you happy." She crossed her arms and feigned confidence, something she'd been doing for years. "I'll leave this horrible place just like I've wanted to for years. Thanks for your blessing. Really…"

She grabbed her school bag from the door and slipped her feet into her shoes.

"Santana…I'm so…" Her mom was the one crying now, but Santana didn't want to here it.

"Come on, Finn. Let's go!" Santana ordered.

Finn grabbed the boom box, ducking his head as he followed Santana out the door.


	11. Hairography

**A/N: Soooo, it's been a few days, but I'm trying to stay committed to a story for once in my life. Here's the latest installment. More to come. **

* * *

><p>It was the sound of that damn hair drier. It had woken her up every morning that week. She didn't get why Carole didn't just buy one of the newer, anti-noise pollution ones. She was sure they existed.<p>

"Fuck," She cursed, grabbing Finn's pillow and pulled it over her head.

Right on cue, his bedroom door flew open and she heard his footsteps coming in and going over to his dresser.

"Morning sleepy head," Finn said cheerfully. "Are you in the mood for breakfast?"

"No." Santana mumbled. "I'm in the mood to get some actual sleep for once."

She had been tossing and turning until all hours the night before. Finn's mattress had to be older than he was. It was like sleeping on bricks. And she couldn't possibly relax under his roof. It just wasn't home.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," He told her. "The couch is too short for me. I've been trying to sleep with my feet hanging off it."

Santana suddenly felt guilty, and had a moment of humanity. "Maybe we should switch tonight." She said, sitting up.

Finn turned to look at her, a small smirk on his face. "I would never let the mother of my child sleep on the couch." He smiled, waving a finger at her.

She clenched her teeth, suddenly feeling nauseous. Finn finished getting his clean clothes out of the dresser and left the room, grinning. She didn't know exactly why she was so horrified. Maybe it was just that Finn seemed to be enjoying their situation far more than it seemed appropriate.

* * *

><p>Quinn and Rachel had started this thing, right after they got together. They would reach out and grab each other's hand in the hall way when they didn't think anyone was paying attention. It would just be a quick squeeze. Obviously, anything more would attract attention.<p>

That day, Quinn gave Rachel's hand a squeeze when she wasn't expecting it, and it gave her butterflies in her stomach. Rachel fought the urge to tackle Quinn into a locker and plant kisses all over her, but obviously, she refrained.

"You know what I realized…" Rachel sighed. "You and I still haven't gone out on a real date."

Quinn blushed, approaching her locker. "I guess not," She said, her voice hushed.

"So, I want to take you out." Rachel told her confidently.

It was a nice concept, but it made Quinn nervous. "I don't know…"

"Come on," Rachel said, leaning up against the locker next to Quinn's as she pulled hers open. "No one will know we're together. It will just look like girl's night…only I'll pay for your dinner."

Quinn smiled gently at Rachel, who was nodding her head encouragingly. Quinn let out a small laugh. "Okay, fine. I'll go out with you."

Rachel's eyes widened amusedly as both girls realized how loud Quinn had said that. They looked around to make sure no one had heard.

"I'm thrilled, Quinn," Rachel bit her lip for a second, and then asked. "Is Friday at eight okay?"

Quinn nodded. "It's perfect."

"Great," Rachel gave her girlfriend a chaste pat on the shoulder, "I'll see you in Glee."

Rachel walked away with a skip in her step, leaving Quinn with her own butterflies. A date with Rachel sounded amazing, but it made her nervous. She'd have to wear something other than her cheerios uniform, and the clothes in her closet just seemed too…girly or childish for the occasion. She felt a little panicked. Luckily, someone passed her locker at that moment that she was sure could help her.

"Hey! Kurt! Wait up…"

* * *

><p>"Hey Mr. Shue, can I talk to you for a minute?" Finn asked, inching into Shuester's office.<p>

"I told you, Finn. Use bobby pins, your wig will stay in place."

They'd been putting together a number to mimic the hair-utilizing dance moves of their competition for sectionals, the girls from Jane Addams Academy.

"It's not about my wig," Finn said. "It's actually…um…you're, like, an adult, right?"

Mr. Shuester's eyes shifted back and forth awkwardly. "Last time I checked…"

"No, but I mean, you have adult friends, and I know you're at an age where a lot of your friends are having kids, and you see, I was looking for a baby sitting gig, you know, I'm pretty good with kids and I'm looking to get some experience taking care of them…I mean…you know…to make some extra money and all."

Mr. Shuester started to smile. "You know, Finn, you're a pretty responsible kid, and when Terri has the baby she and I would definitely trust you to watch it. I would love to refer you to some of my friends; in fact, we're going out with my in-laws this Friday. Maybe you'd like to watch her boys. They'll love you."

"Really…?" Finn's face lit up. "That's awesome. Do you mind if Santana comes? I mean…she's going to have a baby too, I think she might want to see what it's like."

"I didn't know you and Santana were friends," Mr. Shuester said, "But yeah, I'm sure that would be fine."

"Wow, thanks Mr. Shue!" Finn grinned. "You won't regret this!"

He flew out of the office, excited to tell his baby-mama the news.

* * *

><p>Quinn led Kurt down the hall to her room and opened the door for him. He walked in and smiled.<p>

"I'm impressed, Fabray," He grinned, first noticing the contrast between her rich, rose-colored wall paper and her off-white duvet. "Did you decorate yourself?"

"No, I guess a lot of it was my mom," Quinn admitted. "I helped though."

Kurt nodded, walking over to the window and pinching her lace curtains, examining them. "It's nice…" He said once more, and then decided to get down to business. "So, what's the big occasion you need me to dress you for."

"Well, I have a date on Friday," Quinn told him, blushing. "…And I realized that I have no idea what to do out of my cheerios uniform."

"Oh my…" Kurt said. "Well, I applaud you for getting yourself back out there. Tell me a little bit about this guy."

"Oh…" Quinn knew she had to be coy. She'd prepared herself quite well. "Well, we don't have a lot in common but I guess there's just something there. I mean, things were unsure between us for a while but it looks like we've finally worked things out and I just really want this date to go well so I don't loose them."

Kurt had a feeling he knew who she was talking about, and felt a pang of jealousy in his gut. "Is he anyone I know?"

Quinn felt victorious. She'd managed to explain things without being gender-specific. "Maybe …" She lied. "I mean, I don't really want to jinx it."

"Right…" Kurt sighed, disappointed. "Well, we'll go over wardrobe tonight, and I can come over and do your hair and make up on Friday."

"Perfect," Quinn smiled.

"Perfect…" Kurt repeated, making a face as if he had smelled something bad. He disappeared into Quinn's closet.

* * *

><p>"Finn…! Wait…!" Kurt tried to run after his crush as cutely as possible. He had prepared a device that would help him subtly figure out the truth.<p>

"Hey, Kurt, what's up?" Finn said, friendly.

"Not much, I'm just trying to figure out what to wear this weekend. I've got big plans."

"Well, don't look at me dude. I can barely dress myself."

_I've noticed_, Kurt thought. "And what are your plans for the weekend?"

"Oh, you know, babysitting…"

"What night?" Kurt asked quickly.

"Friday…why…?"

"No reason…" Kurt felt a wave of relief pass over his body. Finn wasn't getting back together with Quinn. He wished he could say that his concern had been about Santana, but as he waved goodbye to Finn and walked away, he knew he was really more selfish than that.

* * *

><p>"So…" Kurt said to Quinn as he patted a powder puff across her face on Friday afternoon. "Tell me more about this guy." Now that he knew it wasn't Finn, he was actually curious. "What's he like?"<p>

"Sweet…" Quinn smiled warmly, her eyes closed so her eyes wouldn't get filled with make up. "Talented…She's just…" He eyes popped open, realizing she had slipped up. "_He's_…." She tried to redeem herself, but it was too late.

Kurt backed away from her, his eyes widening in excitement. "So it really isn't Finn…?"

"You thought it was Finn?" Quinn cried. "Gross!"

Kurt shook his head embarrassedly. "Grosser things have happened," He shrugged. "I mean, sorry…I was just paranoid."

Quinn was confused by his word choice. "Paranoid…?"

"You and Finn weren't exactly the best couple."

Suddenly, Quinn could read him like an open book. "And who do you think would be? You and Finn…?"

Kurt looked completely caught off guard. He looked up at her and forced a laugh. "No, of course not…Have you seen those flannel shirts? No…just…" Kurt shook his head. "…No…"

Quinn didn't buy it. "Don't be embarrassed," She said. "I liked Finn for a year. I understand the initial appeal. Just understand that he's not as great as he seems."

Kurt wanted to let the fact that Finn had cheated on Quinn and impregnated her best friend sway his opinion. But he still felt warm and fuzzy when he thought about Finn, and he hated it. "I don't like Finn…" He lied, his cheeks still burning.

"It's okay," Quinn said gently. "I won't tell anyone. But you have to keep my secret too."

"Fair's fair," Kurt said, finally collecting himself.

Quinn took a deep breath. "It's Rachel Berry," She admitted. "I'm dating Rachel Berry."

Kurt didn't seem surprised. "I always got a vibe from her."

"Really…?" Quinn didn't believe it.

Kurt shrugged unapologetically, reaching for the palette of eye shadow on Quinn's vanity. "Close your eyes," He demanded. And then he continued to make her over.

* * *

><p>Baby sitting Mr. Shue's nephews wasn't as easy as Finn thought it would be. By nine o'clock, the boys had him and Santana tied to a pair of chairs with a jump rope. The knot wasn't too tight, and he got them free within a matter of minutes, but it was enough time for Santana's rage to build up.<p>

She flew out of her chair and tore after the boys, trying to chase them down, yelling what Finn could only guess were obscenities in Spanish. By ten o'clock, she had tackled all three of them down, one by one, and locked them in Mr. Shuester's bedroom, a chair under the door knob on the outside so they couldn't get out. All throughout the chase, however, Finn just sat on the couch, watching _"The Wedding Singer" _on VH1.

"A little help would have been nice," Santana snapped, charging into the living room with her hands on her hips.

"They're little boys, Santana," He reasoned. "There are going to be days when our son has a little too much energy, and we're just going to have to let him play."

"Will you stop referring to him as our son!" Santana yelled. "You keep acting like we're this big happy family! We're not even together, Finn!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" He asked, looking hurt.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Seriously…? Why are we doing this? What made you think that coming here was a good idea?"

"We needed the practice…" He half mumbled.

Santana felt a lump forming in her throat. "Maybe we need to talk more about adoption." She said. "I don't think we should be parents. I think…I think we should put the baby up..."

"Santana, no…" His voice got deep and he spoke slowly, as if he was cautioning her against something. "That's not what I want."

"And you know what?" She continued. "I don't feel comfortable living with you when we're not together and we never will be."

"Well, where else are you going to go?" Finn asked meanly.

Santana shrugged. "I don't know. I'll figure something out." She started to leave the room. "You can take care of the three stooges. I'm done."

He heard her go down the hall, and slam the apartment door as she left.

He heard a crash come from the bedroom, and one of the little boys laughed demonically.

"Hey! Cut it out!" He tried yelling. But that only made the boys scream louder. He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees and massaging his eyelids. He felt like he was about to cry. Santana was right. He had no idea how to take care of children, but the idea of someone else taking care of his? It was just too much to handle.

* * *

><p>Quinn and Rachel were on Quinn's couch, kissing and pawing at each other. They'd had dinner at Breadsticks. Quinn had worn a low-cut green silk top dress under her denim blazer with silver ballet flats. Her hair was half up and curled to perfection by Kurt Hummel. Rachel had worn a short denim skirt, a sexy black top and three-inch heels. Neither of the girls could take their eyes off each other. They only made it halfway through the movie before Quinn boldly brushed Rachel's hair out of her ear and whispered that her parents were out for the night.<p>

Sure, they'd agreed to take things slow, but since they'd already gone to second base, they figured there was no point in regressing. Rachel was running her hands up Quinn's back, eager to get the other girl's bra off, when the ringing of the Fabray's door bell interrupted them.

"Ignore it," Rachel pleaded, holding on to Quinn tightly. "You can ignore it, can't you?"

It rang again, and someone started pounding on the door. "They see the car in the driveway. She pried herself off Rachel. "I'll get rid of them. Don't worry."

Quinn smoothed out her dress as she made her way to the front door. To her surprise, she opened it to see Santana sobbing on her doorstep.

"I didn't know where else to go," Santana whimpered. "I had a fight with…" She caught herself. "…with Puck. Can I stay here? Just for tonight…?"

Quinn didn't even have to think about it. Rachel would understand, wouldn't she?

"Of course, Santana," Quinn nodded. "Come on in…"


	12. Mattress

**A/N- So…haven't updated this one in a while. This one's pretty short, but I didn't have much to write. **

**I've been sort of distracted by this Hevans fic I'm writing where they're best friends and win the lottery. That's right! This multi-shipper is throwing back to the old days. If you like the Kurt/Sam pairing at all (you don't have to hate Klaine, and you don't have to believe Sam's gay in canon, I don't to either), you should check it out on my profile.**

* * *

><p>Santana nearly had a heart attack when she closed her locker the next day and found Finn waiting on the other side.<p>

"I don't like where this is going." He said simply.

"Where what is going…?' Santana shrugged innocently.

"You're living with Quinn now!" Finn cried. "This is a recipe for disaster."

"I know how to keep my mouth shut, Hudson." Santana rolled her eyes. "Quinn's parents are drooling at the opportunity to offer me their Christian charity. They told me I could stay as long as I want. I'm not going to ruin that."

"Come back to my house," Finn told her. "I promise I'll stop pushing you. Just…stay with me until the baby's born. It's not right for you to do this to Quinn."

"No." Santana shook her head. "It's not. But I don't feel like I have any other choice."

With a frank shrug, she turned and walked away from him.

* * *

><p>Quinn stood at a computer in the school library, looking through the card catalog for a book on the Clinton Administration, which she was writing a paper about for U.S. history.<p>

"Hello, beautiful…" A soft voice suddenly whispered in her ear. She spun around, a smile coming over her face. Rachel was behind her.

"Hey," She said, glancing around making sure no one was watching them.

"So, it's good news, huh?' Rachel said. "The glee club gets a picture in the yearbook after all."

Mr. Shuester had bought the club a quarter page after principal Figgins had told him the club couldn't have a picture in the Thunderclap. Rachel was extremely happy, but everyone else was worried the picture would only get defaced. They had voted for Rachel to represent the club alone, and Quinn felt a little bit guilty about it, but she wasn't sure what people would think if she joined Rachel.

"Yeah….it's great…" She said uncomfortably.

"Look, I don't want to push you to do it," Rachel told her gently. "But I would love it if you were my co-captain."

Quinn hesitated. She then realized how incapable she was of saying no. "Yeah… I'd love to be."

"Great…" Rachel grinned. Quinn could tell she wanted to kiss her. She placed a hand on Quinn's arm, her eyes getting dark and suggestive. "There's a book on the top shelf in the back corner that I can't seem to reach. Do you think you could help a girl out?"

Quinn eyed Rachel suspiciously. "Sure…" She clicked out of her search and followed Rachel through the aisles. Once they'd reached the back wall, and the voices of their peers were swallowed by the mass of books, Rachel wasted no time. She got on her tip toes, throwing her arms around Quinn's shoulders and planting a kiss on her lips.

"There's no book." She mumbled sexily.

"I didn't think so…" Quinn breathed. She ran her hands through Rachel's hair and kissed her back, hard. "You just couldn't get through the school day, could you?"

Rachel shook her head, giggling.

Suddenly, the sound of a book dropping several feet away pulled the girls back into reality. They flew apart to see a wide-eyes freshman picking up her book and scurrying away.

"Shit…" Quinn said, color coming to her cheeks.

"It's okay," Rachel said nervously. "She probably doesn't even know who we are."

"Everyone knows who I am." Quinn snapped back, hostile. "Rachel, what if she tells someone!"

"Then you'll come out. Worse things have happened."

"You know I'm not ready to do that!" Quinn cried. "God…what if coach Sylvester finds out that I'm hooking up with you! She'll kick me off the team! You saw what she did to Santana!"

"That was different! That was for health reasons! It was because of the baby!"

"But what if it wasn't? You don't know how judgmental that woman is!" Tears were coming to Quinn's eyes. She put a hand over her face. "God, you just couldn't wait until the end of the day to kiss me, could you?"

Rachel clenched her jaw, infuriated. "It takes two people to make out, Quinn," She said quietly, and then stormed off.

* * *

><p>They were supposed to meet during fourth period for the glee club picture. Quinn had algebra during fourth and was always dreaming of a way out of it. However, when fourth period rolled around, she couldn't bring herself to leave.<p>

Finn sat next to her. When the teacher had finished her lecture and they were supposed to work on a problem set, he leaned over.

"You look upset. Are you upset?"

What the hell? "Why are you talking to me?" She whispered back.

"I just want to make sure you're okay. I mean…if you're mad there's probably a reason and…"

"I'm not mad," She asserted. "God, what's with you? Why are you being weird?"

"Never mind…" Finn mumbled.

They sat in silence a few minutes more before he opened his trap again.

"So, how's living with Santana?" Finn asked her, his voice still hushed.

Quinn sighed, annoyed. "It's like a slumber party every night. Now can I do my homework, please?"

"She said your parents are pretty nice…"

"Yes. They are."

"That's good…" Finn bit his lip thoughtfully and nodded. "Look, I just know that sometimes it's bad for best friends to live together. You know, I read that people do it in college all the time and, like, destroy their friendships."

"Well Santana and I know not to mess with each other."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Quinn tried to go back to her assignment but suddenly couldn't concentrate. "Finn, I don't know what you're suggesting I do. She has no where else to go, and frankly, I don't see how it's any of your business."

"Fine…" Finn picked up his pencil and focused his attention on his book. "I'm just concerned for you. That's all."

Quinn rolled her eyes. She was in no mood to deal with Finn Hudson. As always, he was being an idiot.

* * *

><p>Quinn didn't go to rehearsal after school. There was no one she wanted to see there anyway. Instead, she went home, put on sweat pants, and turned on Turner Classic Movies.<p>

Santana came home around five to see her reclining on the couch.

"What's your problem?" She said, coming in to sit with her friend. "You missed it. We're filming a mattress commercial tomorrow. We learned a Van Halen song. Why weren't you in Glee?"

"Cramps…" Quinn lied.

"Your period ended a week and a half ago," Santana said boredly. "I would know. We had the same cycle until…you know…" She patted her abdomen lightly.

Quinn frowned up at her. "I'm fighting with Rachel." She said sadly. "And I kind of blew her off today, so she's probably madder than before. I just…I didn't feel like seeing her."

"Good," Santana replied immediately. "You two need to spend some time apart. I mean, when I showed up last weekend, I was horrified because you two looked like you were going on a date or something."

Quinn was quiet. She bit her lip begging herself not to start crying. Santana read her friend's face, and hers' fell quickly.

"Holy crap…!" She cried, her voice dripping with disgust. "You're dating the hobbit!"

"Shut up!" Quinn cried. "I've never judged you before! I don't think it's too much for me to ask you to accept this."

"Accept this!" Santana laughed. "Look, I'm all for you exploring, Quinn. You know I have no problem with the gays, but her? She's awful. No one with any self respect would get mixed up in that."

Quinn's stomach tightened. This was exactly why she'd kept it a secret from Santana. She couldn't help herself. She had to fight back. "At least I'm actually dating her…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana cried.

"It means at least I don't jump into bed with every low life that comes along," Quinn snapped.

"That's not true!"

"You're fifteen and pregnant! The father threw you out of his house! And you're judging my relationship choices."

"He didn't throw me out!"

"That's sure what you made it sound like," Quinn shrugged.

"You want to know what happened! He wanted to be with me. _He_ wanted to have a relationship with _me_! I chose not to, and it just didn't feel right to stay with him when he was, like, in love with me."

"Puck was never in love with you," Quinn cried. "Wake up! He was using you! He feels bad because you're pregnant now. That's all. Don't flatter yourself."

Santana clenched her jaw. She could feel the anger boiling up inside her. "You like to feel good about yourself, don't you Quinn?" She hissed. "Naive little girl; thinks she's always in control…you think Finn stayed with you all that time because he loved you? You're pathetic."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked nervously.

"I'm telling you to get off your high horse…" Santana got off the couch. "Finn was right. I shouldn't be living here."

"Wait…" Quinn watched her as he walked to the door. "He talked to you too? Why does he think this is any of his business?"

Santana's face broke into a wicked grin. "I want you to think about it, and see if you can figure out why it's his business." She took a few more steps, and then added. "And by the way, I lied. I was never staying at Puck's."


End file.
